The role of diversity in the health care needs of California.

Socioeconomic, racial, and ethic diversity influence many facets of health care, including access to health services, the morbidity and mortality of disease, and the process of training health care professionals. California has an increasingly diverse population, and it is essential that the University of California medical schools carefully address the role of diversity in medical education and in education for the many other professionals who have a key role in the provision of care and services to Californians. In this paper, we provide evidence in support of the belief that the University of California system must train a physician workforce that reflects the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic characteristics of California's population in order to provide equitable health care to all segments of the state's people.