Hispanic Paradox Essay

Juana Mora in “Acculturation Is Bad for Our Health: Eat More Nopalitos” argues that the United States offers many job and educational opportunities for Latinos, but acculturation in America negatively impacts their health. Mora offers research and statistics, most of which I find compelling, to explain that these illnesses are primarily due to the immigrants’ new “daily habits and environment changes” (Mora 660). After arriving in America, immigrants often live in crime-ridden, low income neighborhoods, rely on fast food, abuse alcohol and tobacco products, and have fewer safe areas for exercise. Additionally, the stress caused “by learning a new language and culture” and “living in new and sometimes dangerous environments” causes illnesses such as post-traumatic

These religious and spiritual influences play a major role in the Hispanics health, illness and daily life. In much a similar manner, the Native American Indian family adopts the cultural beliefs to associate with illness and health. They believe that a person’s state of exists when he or she exists in harmony with nature and sickness occurs when an imbalance between the natural or supernatural forces and the sick individual exists (Askim-Lovseth & Aldana, 2010). Traditional health believes and practices involving healing ceremonies and rituals restore balance when illness happens. “These can be conducted by their traditional medicine men or women, who are thought to have compelling powers, the ability to read minds, and know-how in concocting medicine, drugs and poisons.” For the white young family, the cultural belief of invincibility and youth are the driving force behind health prevention (Askim-Lovseth & Aldana, 2010). “Focus on the temporary is regularised, while thinking about health is assigned to an adult person where family accountabilities pertain.” Protecting against illness or disease does not feature into their daily lives. Disease or illness is something that is insubstantial and distant, and unimaginable to their young, resilient bodies and thus irrelevant (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).

When looking at the Hispanic/Latino ethnic groups some may think they are all from the same country because of their culture, and the fact that many speak Spanish. However, this is not the case, and when looking at the unique features associated with each ethnic group, it is easy to see the differences between them. All of the Latino/Hispanic ethnic groups have differences and this can even be heard in the dialect used to speak Spanish, such as the case when listening to Puerto Ricans and Mexicans speaking Spanish. In an effort to have a better understanding of elder Mexicans, this paper will look at the Mexican sub-culture, and the features associated with the family dynamics, gender roles, acculturation patters, as well as religious contemporary issues such as taking care of an elder family member. We will examine ways to engage, assess, discuss ways of intervention, and review ways to ensure that effective evaluations are completed.

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 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

Family life is important to Latino family interests are valued over individual well-being (Latinos, 2014). The structure of the Latino family tends to be patriarchal with great power and responsibility vested in the male head of household. The family is viewed as the focal point of mutual aid in the Latino community, based on the cultural norm of personalismo and the non-familial organizations are not generally trusted. Latinos depend more on the family for services, emotional support and advice than they do professionals. In the Latino culture, la familia (the family) and interdependence among its members are highly valued (Appleby, G.A., Colon, E., & Hamilton, J., 2011).

The mental health disparities for Latino families who are among the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States ( Ennis, Rios-Vargas, & Albert, 2011), reinforces the importance in understanding risk factors that contribute to the high risk of mental health issues for this population (Lawton, Gerdes, 2014). Most research has focused on the relationship between acculturation and its impact on mental health status for Latinos’ living in the U.S, but findings continue to be controversial. A synthesis of current research demonstrates that limitations in attempting to explain vulnerability issues for Latinos’ incudes lack of consistency with measurement of acculturation, limited use

In "Health Assimilation among Hispanic Immigrants in the United States: The Impact of Ignoring Arrival-cohort Effects," Tod G. Hamilton, Tia Palermo, and Tiffany L. Green set out to add a meaningful contribution to the literature tackling the "healthy immigrant effect," a phenomenon where the initial health advantage of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. diminishes over time. Indeed, this phenomenon (or puzzle) sets the foundation for their study since it is clearly presented by Hamilton et al. right at the beginning of their article: "Upon arrival in the United States, Hispanic immigrants, like many immigrant subgroups, tend to exhibit better health than their native-born counter-parts. This advantage, however, erodes as immigrants' tenure of U.S. residences increases" (Hamilton et al. 2015, 460).

Documentation status can affect almost every aspect of care. An undocumented patient has the fear of deportation and this ongoing threat leads to less participation in health care safety nets. They are often exploited in their workplace, compensated poorly and may stress out a lot in searching for work on a daily basis. Facing the distressing separation from family and the fear of being deported can lead to severe mood disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder. Most foreign-born Latinos speak Spanish and less than one-fourth is fluent in English. The language barrier affects the

The Hispanic's population has grown excessively since 1980. People say that around 2050 the Hispanic population will be 28% of the U.S when in 1980 their population was 6% of the U.S. Hispanic's are also very hard workers it show's that they have high percentages in most employment.

The sample size consisted of 3050 Mexican Americans aged 65 years or older from the” baseline September 1993- June 1994, who were residing in the 5 US southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.” (González, 2009) The participants participated in self-rated health and included medical illnesses, most importantly was the years of US residency as key predictors of how acculturation may or may not play a role in the health deterioration, if any of this aging

In the qualitative study authored by Britigan et al, the independent variable is the ethnicity of the subject with a specific focus on a Latino sample population. The dependent variable in the study was the acculturation of interview subjects. Subordinate dependent variables included the health information sources used by Latinos in southwest

The health care system in the U.S. is used less than its full capacity by Hispanic women, especially after recent migration to the U.S. Among recent immigrants, protective factors such as traditions, health values and behaviors are shown to guard and strengthen health. Safeguards to health deteriorate sharply as they acculturate to U.S. society ((Sanchez-Birkhead, 2010).

Hispanics orientation to the present is demonstrated by the fact that getting diseases is a bigger concern than dying in their culture (Centers for Disease Control, n.d). Morbidity is of greatest concern to this culture and includes lifestyle and behaviors affecting health, environmental factors such as exposure to pesticides, unclean air, and polluted water, and the ongoing need for more effective use of health services (Centers for Disease Control, n.d). Hispanics have higher rates of several cancers related to infections (stomach, liver, and cervix) and are more likely have cancer detected at a later stage because of the common reluctance to see a doctor until the illness has severely progressed (Centers for Disease Control, n.d). Environmental

The goal of this qualitative study was to investigate the influences of acculturation, SES, and cultural health beliefs on Mexican-descent women's preventive health behaviors. The researchers conducted interviews among 5 focus groups which consist of women with different levels of acculturation and SES. According to those interviews, Mexican-descent women who were less U.S. acculturated and had lower SES were less likely to seek breast cancer screening, less likely to know the danger signs of breast cancer, and less likely to seek immediate care for health-related problems. The major reason why women did not participate in breast cancer screening was that they felt healthy and did not have breast cancer symptoms. Mexican-descent women believed