Health Promotion in Minority Populations
An ethnic minority group refers to a community that practices different cultural and national traditions from the main population’s culture in a particular country. In the United States, the ethnic minority groups include; American Indians, Asian Americans, Black Americans, and Pacific Islanders. The white Americans take the largest percentage of the population in the United States. Therefore, they are the racial majority. The minority groups’ health statuses are different from those of the racial majority because of culture, education, socioeconomic and sociopolitical factors.
Black Americans are the United States’ ethnic group who have a total or partial ancestry from Africa’s black racial groups. They are mostly referred to as African Americans because most of them have African origins. The Black Americans are the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. A small percentage of the Black Americans do not have a black ancestry. The Black Americans have some different cultural characteristics from the white Americans and other racial minority groups that modify their behavioral programs. However, most of the Black Americans have fully adopted to the whites’ cultures and traditions that define their ways of life.
Every racial group in America has different health issues. Black Americans’ current health status identifies their exposure to high risks of cancers, cardiovascular ailments, diabetes, hypertension, sexually transmitted infections, and obesity (De Cuir, n.d). The significant percentage of the Black American population that is highly exposed to health risks is the young population. The death rates of older Black Americans due to exposure to ill health conditions have declined over the years. The young Black Americans mostly die of chronic diseases and other risk factors due to a lack of early diagnosis.
Race and ethnicity influence the health of different groups in America. This is because, despite the advances made in the diagnosis and treatment of complex ailments, America’s racial minorities tend to receive low qualities of healthcare interventions. Therefore, racial and ethnic minorities are highly exposed to mortality from cancer, hypertension, sexually transmitted diseases, and chronic diseases than the racial majority. The low quality of healthcare interventions for Black Americans is significantly contributed by a lack of equality (De Cuir, n.d). The lack of equal delivery of quality healthcare towards the Black Americans results from racial discrimination.
Nutritional challenges also significantly contribute to the decelerating health of Black Americans. A large percentage of Black Americans have low dietary intakes, dietary patterns, and dietary behaviors. Mostly, Black Americans’ diets are made of large portions of fats, fewer fruits and vegetables, fewer whole grains, and large amounts of salt and sugar. The significant contributors to the nutritional challenges among blacks are socioeconomic factors. Research indicates that only 21.3 percent of Black Americans take fruits and vegetables. This is according to the Behavioral Risk Factor survey. The health implications of low diets among Black Americans contribute to their high mortality.
The cultural beliefs of Black Americans also significantly contribute to their health. For instance, thirty percent of Black Americans believe that their health depends on their fate and destiny. It is only about fifty percent of Black Americans that prioritize their health. Most Black Americans have poor reception and utilization of health information. The less concern towards health issues indicated by Black Americans lacks exposure, lack of proper education, and negligence (Almond, n.d). Research suggests that fewer Black Americans graduate from high school compared to non-Hispanic whites. Similarly, more whites earn bachelor’s degrees than Black Americans.
Socioeconomic factors have negative impacts on health conditions among Black Americans. Majority of the Black Americans lack proper employment compared to the whites. Hence, poverty is predominant among Black Americans. In most cases, poverty significantly contributes to a lack of basic needs, such as proper shelter, food, and clothing. Statistics show that African Americans are the most inferior ethical group in America. Their minimum household income is meager compared to other ethnic groups (Mabbott, 2012). The payment of Black Americans peaked in the year 2000 but started declining again. Due to poverty, it is difficult to manage complex illnesses such as heart diseases, cancer, sexually transmitted infections, and obesity, increasing mortality among Black Americans.
Environmental factors also determine individuals’ health—some of the environmental factors affecting health include; weather, air quantity, topography, and vegetation. Human-made influences upon their environment primarily contribute to adverse environmental factors. Most Black Americans rarely give their environment quality attention by controlling the destructive elements. Some of the contributors to poor health in human environments are; pests, waterborne diseases, toxic air, and wastes from industries through their careless disposition. Compared to the climate where whites live in America, the Black Americans’ territory is highly toxified.
Due to poverty, most Black Americans have inadequate housing facilities that negatively influence their health. A large percentage of Black Americans live in the lowest quality houses. Most Black Americans are affected by asthma because it is positively associated with poor housing conditions highly exposed to dust and toxic air (Almpnd, n.d). The rapid increase of cardiovascular infections among Black Americans is positively related to their living in segregated houses. Most Black Americans are less likely to gain from exercising because of living in the most impoverished environments associated with high homicides rates.
To boost Black Americans’ health conditions, it is crucial to create a significant care plan initiative that can meet all the critical needs of their population based on the primary level of health promotion and prevention. Through the direct healthcare approach, a care plan can be created basing on promoting good health, prevention of diseases, cure of diseases, offering rehabilitation and support through palliative care. To help the Black Americans reduce their exposure to high risk of mortality due to poor health, it is essential to create a care plan that caters for all their health needs (Almond, n.d). The care plan should promote good health among them by educating them on proper health requirements; hence, help them prevent most diseases. The care plan should help them curing their diseases by taking care of the sick appropriately in rehabilitation services and support through palliative care. While creating a care plan, it is essential to consider the particular population (Grice-Dyer, n.d). For instance, considering the Black Americans, it is necessary to focus on their religious differences, beliefs in alternative medicines, fear of the unknown, distrust of healthcare services, and unfamiliarity with palliative care concepts.
It is important to prioritize health promotion for the minority populations of a given country because of the value of human life and appreciating the significant roles that they play in their country. When individuals’ health is not in good condition, all the aspects of life tend to be challenging to cater to. Access to proper health should be equalized for all ethnic groups and races.
References
Almond, A. (n.d.). Taking race out of the picture: Health communication and disease prevention for Black Americans. doi:10.23860/diss-almond-amanda-2014
APA PsycNet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2006-01763-011
DeCuir, D. (n.d.). Health barriers, health perceptions, and cardiovascular risk factors of adolescent Black American males. doi:10.21007/etd.cghs.2007.0065
Grice-Dyer, A. J. (n.d.). Cultural competence among cardiovascular healthcare providers with Black patients in rock island County, Illinois. doi:10.17077/etd.7c9cx31p
Improving the health of African Americans in the USA: An overdue opportunity for social justice. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://publichealthreviews.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40985-016-0025-4
Mabbott, I. (2012). Testing treatments: Better research for better healthcare – Second editionTesting treatments: Better research for better healthcare – Second edition. Nursing Standard, 26(32), 30-30. doi:10.7748/ns2012.04.26.32.30.b1342