Healthcare Disparity Among The Hispanics

Immigration from Latin America and the growth of the nation 's Latino population are two of the most important and controversial developments in the recent history of the United States. Latinos are destined to continue to have an enormous impact

A healthcare disparity is a limitation of healthcare availability, usually among a certain racial or socioeconomic demographic (Black, 2013). However, there are disparities that don’t have a specific demographic and affect the entirety of the United States, which are potentially most detrimental to the overall health of our country. One of those disparities is health literacy, or the exchange of complex information from the healthcare provider to the patient or client (Black, 2013). The lack of health literacy in America poses as a problem, especially with the chronically ill. Without proper knowledge of how to treat their illness and what to do when the disease process worsens or ameliorates can potentially cause millions of unnecessary hospitalizations,

Although most American citizens today associate racial and ethnic disparities in public health care quality with socioeconomic status, a majority of studies performed conclude that these discrepancies are still highly prevalent when the factor of one’s socioeconomic status is taken out of the equation. Health disparities for a certain minority result in a higher number of illness, injury, and even mortality for that race or ethnicity in comparison to white Americans; therefore, health care disparities can be defined as differences between groups in health coverage, specifically focusing on both the quality and access to care. The Office of Management and Budget has created two ethnic categories for all American citizens to fit into, being either

Currently within the United States one of the fastest growing minority population (Schwartz & Scott, 2012) is the Latinos. In 2010 Census Bureau Brief ( Ennis, Rois-Vargas, & Albert, 2011) it stated how an estimated 15 million Latino individuals were living within the United States, which is approximately about 16% of the entire U.S. population. There is one big problem with addressing the Latino population, and that is the family patterns are either misrepresented or not properly understood, due to the label of Hispanic and Latinos being placed together. These two groups may share the same spoken language of Spanish and have similar cultural ancestry but the diversity among Hispanic and Latinos (Schwartz & Scott, 2012) make generalizations about their lifestyles difficult. The term Hispanic came to be used in the 1970’s by government officials (cdc.gov, 2011) in trying to provide a diverse label on this population that had connections to speaking Spanish and the Spanish culture. Latino became more of a termed to be used when distinguishing between Mexican (Hispanics) and Latinos who descendants from Latin America such as Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group, estimated to be 54 million living in the United States of America. (Office of Minority Health and Health Equity). They work very hard to make both ends meet and also to stay in good health. They are relatively as a source of cheap labor in the American labor market This paper will dwell more on the Hispanic current Health status, how health promotion is described by the group and what health disparities exists for this group.

Latinos have had a big impact in population numbers in the United States. Constant immigration from Latinos and Hispanics from all over the world have resulted in a large population of them living in America. As of July 1, 2015, there were a total of 56.6 million Hispanics in the U.S., which makes it the largest racial minority in the country (Bureau, 2016). Having a large population of Hispanics, impacts a lot of aspects in the daily lives and influences communities around

Many factors contribute to differing racial and ethnic health needs, including culture norms, religious mandates, and health disparities. The health disparities refers to specific differences in disease incidence, health outcomes, quality of health care and access to health care services that exist across racial and ethnic groups (Mandal, 2014). Disparities may result from inadequate access to care, poor quality of care, cultural issues and social determinants.

The Hispanic community accounts for the largest minority in the United States. The United States Census Bureau reported as of July 2006, the percentage of Hispanics in the nation had grown to 15. This percentage excludes the 3.9 million Puerto Ricans whom call America their home. This number puts the United States ranking third worldwide for largest Hispanic populations, with Mexico and Colombia holding the first and second ranking respectively (Pew Hispanic Center, 2009). The Hispanic community is diverse in itself, although non-Hispanics may have panethnic views of the group as simply Latino or Hispanic, this group is made up of Mexican Americans, Puerto

Approximately 1 in 6 individuals are Hispanic in the United States, and the population is expected to grow to 1 in 4 by 2035 (CDC, 2015). Given that, Hispanics are the biggest minority group in the US (CDC, 2015). The leading cause of death among the Hispanic population is heart disease and cancer responsible for around 2 out of 5 deaths (CDC, 2015). Hispanics have a 50% greater chance of death resulting from diabetes or liver disease than whites (CDC, 2015). Additionally, there are 3 times as more uninsured Hispanics than whites (CDC, 2015). According to the US average, whites are 15 years older than the Latino population, so prevention will greatly benefit the health of the Latino population (CDC, 2015).

Although the United States is a leader in healthcare innovation and spends more money on health care than any other industrialized nation, not all people in the United State benefit equally from this progress as a health care disparity exists between racial and ethnic minorities and white Americans. Health care disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social or economic disadvantage…adversely affecting groups of people who have systematically experienced greater social and/or economic obstacles to health and/or clean environment based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion” (National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities [NPAEHD], 2011, p. 3). Overwhelming evidence shows that racial and ethnic minorities receive inferior quality health care compared to white Americans, and multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including geography, lack of access to adequate health coverage, communication difficulties between patients and providers, cultural barriers, and lack of access to providers (American College of Physicians,

The United States is a melting pot of cultures from around the globe. Many immigrants acclimate to American culture and customs while retaining many of their native culture and customs. However, much of their culture places these immigrants at risk for health disparities. Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing racial and ethnic in the United States (cardiosmart.org, 2014). According to CDC.gov (2004), compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics experienced chronic liver disease 62% more, diabetes 41% more, HIV 168% more and cancer of the cervix 152% and stomach 63% more for males and 150% more for females.

The Hispanic community in the largest minority in the USA and the fastest growing, it is also one with a high incidence of preventable diseases such as Diabetes, periodontitis, colorectal cancer and HIV. Obesity and teen age pregnancy are significantly more prevalent in Hispanic/Latino population as well. Rate of vaccination is also below that of the majority of the population. Addressing their health care makes good public health and economic sense.

The information cited in this paper provides an insight into the health disparities that exist in the Hispanic population. It shows that Hispanics have increased rates of health problems when compared to other racial groups in the United States. These disparities have been shown to be connected to socioeconomic status. The information cited in this paper show that Hispanics have lower socioeconomic status than whites and their low socioeconomic status is implicated as a risk factor for health status. Furthermore, Hispanics face increased barriers to accessing care, receive poorer quality care, and ultimately experience worse health outcomes. For example, Hispanics have higher morbidity rates for diabetes, obesity, cancer, asthma and proliferative

Diversity within the United States has been growing progressively within the past century. About 36 percent of the U.S. population is a part of a minority group, according to the 2010 U.S. Census (CDC, 2017). According to the U.S. Census, a “majority-minority” country is projected by the middle of 21st century, resulting in the white population becoming less than 50% of the population (Elchoufani, 2018). Overall, the life expectancy and child mortality in the U.S. has bettered; however, the minority undergo unequal distribution of illness, disease, disability, and death in comparison to non-minority (CDC, 2017). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), even with all the attempts help diminish health care disparities for minorities, the minorities continue to face these unequal disparities (BLH, 2015).

It is important to understand how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also know as the Affordable Care Act and usually referred to as the Obamacare affordable care act works and the functionality of it. The Affordable Care Act has insured over 20 million people, which was signed back in law in 2010 and signed by the 44th President Barack Obama. This paper will discuss various aspect of the Affordable Care Act, cultural assessment of the Hispanic group, and chapter six case study.