How we ask for, analyze, and report information on race and ethnicity affects our ability to understand the racial and ethnic composition of our nation’s population and our ability to identify and address racial disparities in health and health care. The accuracy and precision of such data have important implications for identifying needs and directing resources and efforts to address those needs. Race, ethnicity, and nationality are distinct concepts that are social constructs, and how they have been defined, identified, and/or categorized have evolved over time.

This brief provides an overview of how the concepts of race, ethnicity, and nationality have been defined and measured by the federal government through the U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) over time and the implications for health disparities. We acknowledge that this brief does not cover all the nuances and complexities of the topic of racial and ethnic identity and that there is variation in how people think, talk, and relate to race, ethnicity, and national identity.

What Are Social Constructs?

The concepts of race, ethnicity, and national origin and their fluidity are reflective of these identities being social constructs. While different, the two concepts of race and ethnicity are connected. Race is defined as a social political category primarily based on physical characteristics such as skin color, and ethnicity is a social category primarily defined by culture, language, and history. National origin is defined by the country or region that an individual or their ancestors originate from. In a 2024 update, federal standards for collecting and reporting racial and ethnic data combined previously separate questions about race and Hispanic ethnicity into a single question, and a new category was added for Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) people. The updated federal standards utilize seven racial and ethnic categories that are identified with the following terms (see Appendix for more details):

  • American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN)
  • Asian
  • Black or African American
  • Hispanic or Latino
  • Middle Eastern or North African (MENA)
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (NHPI)
  • White

Read the full article about race and health disparities by Nambi Ndugga, Drishti Pillai, and Samantha Artiga at KFF.