Health promotion in minority populations
Description of the minority group selected
There are quite many minority groups in the United States based on race. Among them are Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, African Americans
collectively referred to blacks, Hispanics, Alaskan Natives and American Indians, among others.
The Whites remain the majority group in the United States constituting 88% of the total population with health coverage. The Hispanic population is the fastest growing in the United
States, and currently, they represent approximately 18 percent of the total U.S. population.
Americans of Latin origin record higher poverty rates than the general population. African- Americans have remained the largest minority group, and it is fascinating that their socio-cultural aspects remain conspicuous in the United States. For this article, I focus on African Americans, commonly referred to as Blacks. They are individuals whose origin gets traced from the black
racial groups, especially from Africa and the Caribbean.
Health disparities existing for the group
A healthy inequality usually refers to specific populations. A significant gap in the
average rate of incidence of disease, prevalence, morbidity, mortality, survival rates in a
particular community as compared to the health status of a general population gets termed as a
health disparity population. (Fiscella, & Sanders, 2016). There are several factors considered
when gauging if a community has a health disparity, and they include chronic health conditions,
morbidity and mortality rates and health coverage, among others.
Based on the chronic illnesses, African Americans record relatively high health
disparities. Statistically, 13 percent of African Americans across all ages do report having fair to
poor health statuses. Obesity is an issue among the African Americans minority group for the
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adults. Considering individual state across the country, the rates of Adult obesity for African
Americans remain higher as compared for the Native population, the Whites. Approximately 40
percent of the men and 52 percent of the women are known obese cases. There remain a higher
incidence and mortality rates on cancers that can get early diagnosed and treated for African
Americans. Besides, the minority group usually has a sparse representation in cancer trials. As a
result, chances of them surviving cancer of the prostate, lung cancer and cancer of the breast
remain low as compared to the White population.
Considering the causes of death among African Americans, some of the leading causes of
mortality rates include heart disease, stroke, and a variety of cancers. There are approximately 14
infant deaths per 1000 live births for this group of focus. (Williams, Priest, & Anderson, 2016).
The differences based on race or ethnic backgrounds remain conspicuous based on the fact that
socio-economic disparities in health outcomes get consistently noted for significant health issues
in most countries. Factually, individuals in the low socio-economic class, those who are less
educated have an increased probability of suffering from diseases, get prone to loss of function
or disability accompanied by impairment and eventually record higher mortality rates.
In the United States, race and ethnicity correlate with the socio-economic status of its
citizens. Some researchers conducted to indicate that Blacks have a low socio-economic status.
Subsequently, they develop a partial explanation for the poor health outcomes as compared to the
whites. However, some set of studies tend to clarify that socio-economic differences do not
usually determine the disparities of the health status of African Americans and other minority
populations.
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Nutritional challenges
There are diet-related disparities for the Blacks. For the group, they have poor nutrition
profiles and dietary behaviors as well as patterns when compared to the Whites. Among the
discrepancies identified, the African Americans usually follow diets high in fat, more so
saturated fat; low in vegetable, fruit, and whole grain servings. Most of the meals taken often got
from fast foods. Their diets are also high in salt. It remains important to note that while such
disparities get defined based on ethnicity or race, the socio-economic status of individuals may
have a significant influence on the health status disparities. There is dietary prevalence for
Blacks based on cultural influences and necessity. For example, quite some individuals prefer
soul food, a type of cuisine, which involved a variety of fried foods and fatty meats whose
preparation includes rich gravies.
Consideration the facts, typical soul food diet contains enormous amounts of sugar, fat
and meat that pose health threats to consumers. The illnesses associated with such a diet include
obesity, stroke and heart disease. Sticking to soul foods is not the primary problem, but if efforts
could get developed, make it healthy, it would have positive health impacts without
compromising the African American culture. (Williams, Priest, & Anderson, 2016).
Barriers to health for the group
Number elements contribute to the more inferior health status among the African
Americans relative to the Whites. According to research led by the University of Lowa, adequate
educational opportunities and higher incomes remain essential in helping close the gap of
cardiovascular health behaviors ranging from improved physical activity, quality diet, and
quitting smoking among the Blacks and the Native Americans. The participants looked into the
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reasons and claimed that socio-economic factors, especially income and education levels,
influence the disparities in health behaviors between the groups more than other variables used.
According to Mirowsky (2017), education and social factors have a direct influence on the health
of individuals.
A focused data analysis from 3,081 participants constituting of Blacks and Native Whites
who had enrolled in the studies conducted by the American Health Organization, the National
Heart, Lung and Blood Institute got done. From the data, levels of factors, including socio-
economic and psychological factors, played a role influenced the differences in cardiovascular
health behaviors for the comparison groups.
Health promotion activities practiced by the group
Interventions through effective strategies remain essential to minimize the morbidity and
mortality related to poor health practices and behaviors such as poor diet and physical inactivity.
It is imperative that adapting effective interventions aids in increasing the tendency to get
accepted where health change is necessary, especially in minorities. African Americans are
unequally affected by health problems. Faith-Based organizations or religious organizations are
increasingly promoting health using laid activities. Health screening, health fairs get held, and
education that gets referred to as health ministries are some of the activities done to promote
positive health. The churches where African Americans attendance is enormous, their needs tend
to get attended wholesomely based on the spiritual, mental, and physical aspects. The church
elders and pastors also impact the communities through being health agents to lead health-related
change through service as professionals in politics, teaching and preaching. (Holt et al., 2017).
The approach of health promotion through prevention
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Stakeholders involve themselves in practices aimed at promoting health through stressing
on preventive measures. Focus on the Blacks, interventions and services have to get augmented
to reduce tobacco use, increase physical activity and lay actions to adopting an improved diet.
Such practices constitute primary prevention practices. Moreover, control of chronic illnesses for
populations diagnosed with diseases like diabetes and heart disease that constitute secondary
prevention measures.
Cultural beliefs or practices for consideration plus cultural theory or model when
creating a care plan
Culture of a particular population directly influences the values, beliefs, norms, and
health behaviors of people. Such aspects of culture get captured in language, dressing codes, diet,
and social settings or institutions. As a result, it influences aspects of individuals' lives, plus their
health and preferences in managing health conditions. There are, however, multicultural trends
that are emerging for most countries because of globalization and mass immigration. (Brown,
2018).
Due to the heterogeneity of patients, there is a need for transcultural nursing to take root
and get integrated into the current nursing education. (Douglas et al., 2014). As a result, nurses
ought to get aware of the varied perceptions and tolerations they need to acclimatize to, to suit
healthcare settings. Such aspects are essential in administering patient care based on treatment
options and follow-ups, considering patients' attitudes and their reaction to treatment choices.
Subsequently, health care providers, especially nurses, have a responsibility in learning and
understanding the multicultural dimensions of populations. Such efforts are critical in delivering
healthcare since it may culminate a positive attitude of the health workers evaluating their own
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cultural and religious beliefs, hence influence their practices. Acculturation is essential for
adoption among nurses in enabling them to modify clinical practices in care delivery.
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References
Brown, T. H. (2018). Racial stratification, immigration, and health inequality: A life course-
intersectional approach. Social Forces, 96(4), 1507-1540.
Douglas, M. K., Rosenkoetter, M., Pacquiao, D. F., Callister, L. C., Hattar-Pollara, M.,
Lauderdale, J., … & Purnell, L. (2014). Guidelines for implementing culturally competent
nursing care. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 25(2), 109-121.
Fiscella, K., & Sanders, M. R. (2016). Racial and ethnic disparities in the quality of health care.
Annual review of public health, 37, 375-394.
Holt, C. L., Graham-Phillips, A. L., Mullins, C. D., Slade, J. L., Savoy, A., & Carter, R. (2017).
Health ministry and activities in African American faith-based organizations: A
qualitative examination of facilitators, barriers, and use of technology. Journal of health
care for the poor and underserved, 28(1), 378.
Mirowsky, J. (2017). Education, social status, and health. Routledge.
Williams, D. R., Priest, N., & Anderson, N. B. (2016). Understanding associations among race,
socio-economic status, and health: Patterns and prospects. Health Psychology, 35(4), 407.
