Health Care Intervention

Cultural competency aids in closing the “disparities gap” in health care. ("OMH," 2012, para. 2) In doing so, health professionals and their clients are better able to discuss concerns without cultural differences getting in the way of effective communication and problem solving. Being respectful of and sensitive to the client’s health beliefs, culture, values, and diverse needs can bring positive outcomes within treatment and patient care. After all, is it not the main job of the health care provider to ensure patient trust? Open forms of communication when dealing with client issues can only be provided if the patient is comfortable with his provider and believes his

I am a Brazilian black male with military experience and diplomatic knowledge who grew up in a low-income household in a developing country. In addition, I have traveled to about 35 countries and am acquainted with people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, ethnic groups and nationalities. These characteristics and experiences allow me to see the world from perspectives that are unusual for most people. Besides being open-minded and non- judgemental toward all my future patients, I personally understand the difficulties faced by people of color, immigrants and individuals from low-income families. In sum, my background and my cultural literacy will allow me to be a sensitive and culturally aware patient-centered care.

The answer is no simple or a single solution. Rather, the answers must address the range of causes of disparities (inequalities in education, housing, and health insurance) and empower multiple levels of change ( patients, providers, health systems, policymakers, communities). These levels of change are most commonly found in the fundamental public health Socio-Ecological model. In this model, there are 5 levels, intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, institutions and policy, that could be focused on when implementing solutions to public health concerns, which health disparities would be considered. One method that should be looked at very closely in the institutional level of the model is reorganizing the curriculum of physician education in order to incorporate cultural competency. Such training can improve provider knowledge, attitudes and skills, which may be an important precursor to addressing unconscious provider bias. Drawing upon evidence in social cognitive psychology, Van Rhys Burgess have outlined strategies and skills for healthcare providers to prevent unconscious racial biases from influencing the clinical encounter. Their framework includes: 1) Enhancing internal motivation and avoiding external pressure to reduce bias, 2) Enhancing understanding of the psychosocial basis of bias, 3) Enhancing providers’ confidence in their

With this increased research and effort, Americans would be able to intervene and make positive impacts with the state, tribal, and local levels to best address health disparities and inequalities. In efforts to thwart ethnic and minority disparities, The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passed the HHS Disparities Action Plan in order to establish “a nation free of disparities in health and health care, (Cooper 97)” and to implement a series of priorities, strategies, actions, and goals to achieve this vision. States, local communities, private organizations, and providers have additionally engaged in efforts to reduce health disparities. With the HHS Disparities Action Plan, the Department continuously assess policies and programs on racial and ethnic health disparities, watching to see which policies make an impact on the level of health care received by minorities. Similarly, The Affordable Care Act (ACA) health coverage expansions significantly increase coverage options for low and moderate income populations and particularly benefit the “vulnerable populations.” The ACA also includes provisions to strengthen the safety-net delivery system, improve

Health Care reform is a major topic of discussion in today’s society, especially with the relatively novel release of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the Obama administration. Historically, the health care system has disproportionally favored those of higher class and income, resulting in diminished health care for those that could not afford it. The Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 2002 report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, states that a lack of insurance substantially contributes to the proliferation of healthcare disparities. Furthermore, racial and ethnic minorities are most subject to these healthcare disparities because they are significantly more likely to be uninsured. (1) The history of health care reform in the United States, as it pertains to under-insured urban populations, will be discussed, with a specific emphasis on its impact on African-Americans; in addition, the modern resolutions to healthcare disparities will be assessed.

Healthcare disparities within racial minority groups are an ongoing issue in the United States. Factors that affect these disparities are overall quality of care, access to healthcare, and access to insurance. Numerous efforts have been made to decrease the access and quality of care for minorities. The current intervention being used is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This act was initiated by President Obama in 2010 and has had much controversy in the past years. The main arguments are the ACA increasing the taxes for Americans and the fact that all Americans must obtain insurance if proper funds are available. In 2014 the ACA Medicaid expanded and each state had the opportunity to expand if the state believed it appropriate. Out of the 50

The core claims of Melanie Tervalon and Jann Murray-Garcia include the existence of power imbalances between patients and health professionals, the high impact of the relationship between non-financial barriers and a patient’s view of care, and the false sense of preparedness that traditional teaching of cultural competence provides. The core claims made are credible based upon the growing numbers of health disparities outside of the scope of economic differences, as well as the rise in attitudes towards cultural humility versus cultural competence training in academia. The challenges involved in increasing attitudes towards cultural humility lie within curriculum construction and evaluation. Those involved in academia regarded stereotypic

The status of disparities in 2016 is that many groups face substantial disparities in access to utilizations of care. Minorities face more access barriers and utilize less care then Caucasian counterparts. In many cases minorities are less likely to have routine care visits in the previous year comparison to Caucasian. Additionally, to the barriers of access to care, minorities experience poor experience in health care. It is reported that low-income people of all races report worse health status than higher income status. (Winker, 2006) So, where does the U.S. go from this point forward? What is known we still have a health care disparity that exist and persist in the U.S. While health disparities still are viewed, and reflected in race/ethnicity,

HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTERVENTION THAT MAY REVERSE THE FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIKELIHOOD OF BECOMING FRAIL

Anderson, P. A., Gill, P. S., Greenfield, S. M., & Loudon, R. F. (1999). Educating medical students for work in culturally diverse societies. Journal of American Medical Association, 282. 875-880.

As the increase in ethnic and racial minorities continue, so do the increase in health disparities among individuals with diabetes (Hispanic or Latino, 2014). Many interventions are currently being used in healthcare settings to help prevent further health complications among minorities with diabetes (Peek, Cargil, & Huang, 2007). A study by Peek, Cargil, & Huang (2007), titled, “Diabetes Health Disparities: A systemic Review of Health Care Interventions”, further examined the importance of education in the overall management of diabetes, and it’s improvement to better health outcomes (Peek, Cargil, & Huang, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the researchers report on its background of study, methods of study, results of study, and its ethical considerations towards diabetes health disparities.

My grandmother is a good representative of the value of increasing her quality of life and maintaining her health. When my grandmother was in her sixties her doctor informed her that if she did not make some changes to her lifestyle she would develop diabetes. Knowing how hard it is for the average American citizen to change a habit like their diet, my family did not anticipate the changes my grandmother made. She began working out and followed a very strict diet. As a result, she is now in her eighties and does not have diabetes (Friedman, Bowden, & Jones, 2003).

Thanks for your response. It is true that that appropriate intervention do make a lot of difference on patients, most especially if they are fully aware of the disease and the risk factors of the disease. In addition getting patient involve in the health care decision-making about their health goes a long way on self-care management.

In general, I moderately showed beliefs, attitudes, values and practices that advance cultural and linguistic skill within health care delivery. While, taking the cultural test in class of describing cultural pictures for their content was difficult, but I had a superior comprehension of how generalizations are made when taking a look at pictures. As a matter of fact, the thing I learned about myself from these two cultural exercises was that I was that I didn’t understand, the significance of cultural in the health care setting. In fact, being from a diverse culture I didn’t put much thought about the reaction I would get about my culture.

* A more culturally diverse patient population is requiring providers to establish cultural competency by having improved knowledge of different cultural perspectives