Minority Crossover : African American Population

Through the weekly courses, lectures and readings, I have learnt a lot about racial and ethnic disparities, racism amongst minorities (Hispanics, African American-Black, Asians, Latinos). America is a nation of immigrants and their health and healthcare consists of multi-ethnic immigrant stories. I want to share some thoughts on racial and ethnic health disparities, on why I think that America is still a racist nation and racism is so insidious and pervasive. Health disparity is defined as a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Health disparities adversely affect groups of people who have systematically experienced greater obstacles to health based on their racial

Potter and Perry (2017) states, “Health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health.” Health disparity is experienced by social disadvantaged populations. These vulnerable populations can include race or ethnicity, gender, education, income, disability, and geographic location (Potter & Perry, 2017, p. 33). The Banes family

Healthy People 2020 discusses a number of special population’s that have barriers to care including; race, age sex, sexual identity, age, disability, socioeconomic, and location; this post will discuss race (ethnic) group.  There are a number of races mentioned in healthy people 2020, such as, Asian, American Indian, Alaskan, Latino and African American (Healthy People 2020, n.d.). Access to health care in an ethnic group is multifaceted from the lack of trust, lack of health care education, discrimination and cost of care including health insurance. According to Howard, Peace, & Howard (2014), African Americans have a greater risk of three preventable diseases, hypertension, renal failure and bacterial infections stating; “no other disease

In today’s society, there are many different factors that can contribute to one’s overall health and well-being. Since there are so many different factors that can affect one’s health, there are inequalities that exist among people and this is knows as health disparity. "Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States” (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2015). Health disparities can be associated with factors such as: socioeconomic status, education, gender, race, ethnicity, age, mental health, and religion. There are certain health problems that can affect different groups more than others, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS (Surgeongeneral.gov, 2015). One example of a specific population in the United States that is affected by health disparities is the African American Population. While African Americans are affected by various health disparities, one that affects this population more prominently is heart disease.

The United States is a melting pot of cultural diversity. For a country that was founded by individuals fleeing persecution, it has taken us many years to grant African-Americans equal rights, and even longer for those rights to be recognized. Despite all the effort to eliminate inequality in this country, health disparity among this minority group remains a significant issue. Research in this area has pointed to several key reasons for this gap that center on differences in culture, socioeconomics, and lack of health literacy.

Some researchers in the field of public health analysis have increasingly focused on how social determinants of health influence health outcomes and disparities (Clarke, C. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Lundell, H. C., 2012). They have also explored strategies for raising public awareness and mobilizing support for policies to address social determinants of health, with particular attention to narrative and image-based information Clarke, C. E., Niederdeppe, J., & Lundell, H. C., 2012). The relationship between the social determinants of health and health disparities has been well researched. In developing policies or programs to reduce and, ultimately, prevent health disparities, upstream contributing factors, known as the social determinants of health, must be taken into consideration when addressing such issues (Dubiel, H., Shupe, A., & Tolliver, R., 2010). Progress toward reducing health disparities will involve support for community-based strategies, enhanced the understanding of SDH, and increased diversity of the health-care workforce. The coordinated efforts to address disparities take into account strategies and actions that build on community infrastructure and an increasingly diverse and culturally competent workforce (Jackson, C. S., & Gracia, J. N., 2014). These efforts will need to overcome low public awareness and concern about social determinants of health; few organized campaigns; and limited descriptions of existing message content. The established relationships

The difference in health outcomes and the determinants between parts of a population caused by social, demographic, environmental and geographic characteristics is defined as health disparities (Dore & Eisenhardt,2015). Societal, economic, and political forces impact social determinants. (Dore & Eisenhardt, 2015) have indicated that health inequities are avoidable and preventable when appropriate actions are taken to lower the risk of illness.

Health disparities undoubtedly exist among different racial groups with Healthy People 2020 identifying reducing racial gaps and infant mortality as a critical objective (Loggins & Andrade, 2013). Black children are reportedly two times more likely to die during their first year of life than white children (Huffington Post). Furthermore, the overall infant mortality rate is 6 deaths per 1,000 births, but for African American infants the mortality rate is 13.31 deaths per 1,000 births (CDC). There have been many medical advances, such as prescreening to find health issues that contribute to health disparities, but each racial group still do not benefit equally.

There are three categories that summarize health disparities in the U.S. The first is disparities that have a social or economic cause rather than a biological cause. An example of this would be that the death rates of black American men are 26 percent higher than that of white men. Also, the death rates of black American woman are 19 percent higher than that of white women. An explanation for this is because blacks have a lower socioeconomic status than white. The reason for this is because blacks are more likely than white to never graduate high school, or graduate high school but not go to college (Barr, 43). Therefore, those with low socioeconomic status can’t afford to go to the doctor which results in a health disparity. The second category

The United States’ population is currently rising exponentially and with growth comes demographic shifts. Some of the demographics shifts include the population growth of Hispanics, increase in senior citizens especially minority elderly, increase in number of residents who do not speak English, increase in foreign-born residents, population trends of people from different sexual orientation, and trends of people with disabilities (Perez & Luquis, 2009). As a public health practitioner, the only way to effectively eliminate health disparities among Americans, one must explore and embrace the demographic shifts of the United States population because differences exist among ethnic groups (Perez, 2009). We must be cognizant of the adverse

Health disparities remain and continue to remain in the foreseeable future a topic of research and debate in health education and promotion. There is a plethora of social, economic, political, environmental, community, and cultural factors attributed to the causes of health disparities. A potential solution for many health disparities is the delivery of cost effective and reliable targeted health education and promotion interventions. These interventions need evidence-based research and evaluation. To develop and test such interventions requires health-related research studies that have adequate representation of minorities. However, most funded research is concentrated to a homogenous group of White researchers and lack of diversity in researchers. This correlates to the absence of diversity in study participants who are mainly White and thus benefitting the most from the findings.

Health and health care disparities are growing across race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and location. This is a great opportunity for health experts to look at their approach to systematically improving health and reducing health disparities (Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007). Education is an important factor in developing productive; successful members of society. More education also leads to better health (NACDD,

Over the past century, Racism has become more prevalent not only in the United States but globally. This rampant toxic disease is experienced by minorities day after day with little progress being made. Discrimination has an effect on the lives of minorities whether or not it is intentional. Having a negative attitude or stereotyping minorities within the subconscious mind will allow discrimination to exist without realizing it. It is an unconscious process. Minorities have been passed over for jobs in which they are qualified, housing they can afford or more importantly the painful tensions between the African -Americans and the police. It is to no surprise that discrimination can lead to measurable negative effects on health. Every seven minutes, an African American person dies prematurely in the United States. Perhaps this would not be the case if the medical care of blacks and whites were equal. Statistics show that whites who are high school dropouts live 3.4 years longer than their black counterparts, and the gap is even larger among college graduates. While whites who have graduated from high school live longer than blacks with a college degree or more education. This poses a real problem: Why does race have such a profound effect on health and overall wellness?

Health disparities in people of color are a byproduct of racism. “Race is a social construction with no biological basis, whereas racism refers to a social system that reinforces racial group inequity,” (Garcia and Sharif, 2). Usually, only race is involved in research on public health, but racism plays a much larger role in public health than most people think. “For example, being Black (a race category) does not tell us much about one’s health risks. However, being Black in America (a racially stratified society) has negative implications for educational and professional trajectories, socioeconomic status, and access to health care services and resources that promote optimal health, which in combination, may reduce or exacerbate health risks,” (Garcia and Sharif, 2). The idea of being Black in America has different implications than just being Black. Race and racism are two very different things, and are not interchangeable.

There are significant differences in health outcomes among Americans of different racial and ethnic groups. Differences in socioeconomic status play a significant role in determining the health outcomes of certain minority groups, however it doesn’t account for all differences, especially identifiable health disparities among groups of the same socioeconomic status. Racism, whether at the institutional, interpersonal or intrapersonal level, affects various aspects of an individual’s life that can have permanent health implications even before birth in the form of chronic stress.