Jieli.weebly.com



Health Promotion in African AmericansJie LiFerris State UniversityAbstractHealth disparities experienced by African Americans result in worse health outcomes. Multiple factors contribute to the health disparities of African Americans, including African Americans history, health beliefs of African Americans, socioeconomic status of African Americans, and access to healthcare. There is a critical need to implement health-promotion plans to eliminate health disparities of African Americans and improve the health of this particular group. Health Promotion in African Americans Life expectancy and overall health have improved in recent years for most Americans. However, there are continuing disparities in the burden of illness and death experienced by African Americans. The health of African Americans influences substantially the overall health of the nation because African Americans are the largest minority group in the country. Therefore, improving the health of this particular group will help make progress towards the overall health of the nation.African American History In regards to the history of African Americans, this group is classified as an origin of African descendents. According to the Census Bureau (2009), African Americans constitute approximately 13.5 percent of the current American population. By the year 2035 African Americans will comprise 15 percent of the nation’s total population (Population, para. 1). African Americans have a long history in the United States. Some African American families have been in the United States for many generations while others are recent immigrants from places, such as Africa, the Caribbean, or the West Indies. This population is represented throughout the country, with the greatest concentrations in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic regions areas, such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Maryland (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009, para. 1).Health beliefs of African Americans There are several different types of trends that affect the health of this particular group of individuals. Traditional definitions of health stem from the African beliefs about life and the nature of being. Life is considered a process, and the nature of a person is that of an energy source. The mind, body, and spirit are considered as one entity if one has good health. Illness is characterized as natural and unnatural. Natural illnesses are seen as occurring from natural causes, such as cold air, rain, heat, impurities in the air and food, whereas unnatural illnesses are attributed to demons and evil spirits. In the African-American culture illness whether resulting from natural or unnatural causes is only seen as a problem when it affects one’s productivity to work, manage family, or to function effectively. In most African American households, home remedies are utilized for the treatment of illness. These home remedies include salt pork to treat minor cuts, hot lemon remedies for colds, garlic to remove evil spirits, and so forth. In regards to the health care system, there is limited trust in the system because it is believed that the system does not add value to the lives of African Americans. Also, the ability to obtain health insurance is limited; in fact, only 18% of African Americans under 65 in the United States have health insurance (Byrd, 2000, p. 172). Socioeconomic Status of African Americans A person’s socioeconomic status is based on a person’s income, education, and occupation. The latest US Census Bureau report (2009) declared that black households had the lowest median income ($34,218) in 2008 among the race groups (Income in the United States, para. 3), and the proportion of people not covered by health insurance is higher among people with lower income (“Health insurance coverage,” para. 4). Income is a powerful variable that explains health status (Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons, 2006, p. 305). The good news is that “the number of black college students in fall 2008 was roughly double the corresponding number from 15 years earlier” (Education, para. 3). People are starting to believe that education has a positive influence on factors which include job opportunities, income, access to nutritious foods, and health insurances. Studies show that education is strongly associated with health literacy, which in turn affects one's ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.Diseases and Illnesses among African Americans Africa Americans have the highest mortality rate in the U.S. for most cancers. The contributing factors are interrelated with socioeconomic status, education, lack early detection and treatment services. Lung cancer is considered the first leading cause of cancer death among African Americans. Breast cancer is also the most common cancer among African American women. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in African American men (American Cancer Society, 2010, para. 2). The latest statistics show that cardiovascular diseases are still the No. 1 killer of African American males and females (American Heart Association, 2010, para. 2). As we all know, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity are the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Coronary artery disease in African American is likely to develop at early age and is more severe than whites. African Americans also have a higher morbidity of stroke and higher death rate from strokes, which may be related to the high incidence of hypertension, obesity, and diabetes (American Heart Association, 2010, para. 4). Other diseases that are common in African Americans are diabetes, end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and sickle cell disease. According to American Diabetes Association (2009), there are 14.7 percent of African Americans having diabetes within age 20 years or older and the incidence of diabetes is 1.6 times higher than non Hispanic whites. Complications of diabetes are more common in African Americans than in whites (African Americans & complications, para. 1). African Americans are four times more likely to develop ESRD and seven times more likely to have hypertensive ESRD (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2006, p. 1742). Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder that results in chronic anemia, pain, disability, organ damage, increased risk for infection, and early death. About 1 in 400 African Americans have Sickle cell disease (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2006, p. 889). Health Promotion Plans Today’s nurses are faced with providing care to people from culturally diverse backgrounds. People’s culture plays a big role in their attitude and behavior towards health. Leininger’s transcultural theory (as cited in Tomey & Alligood, 2006) pointed out that providing culturally congruent care to people of different cultures is to maintain or regain their well-being, health, or face death in a culturally appropriate way. Gaining knowledge of minority cultures help nurses achieve cultural competency. For example, many African Americans distrust the health care system. Thus, nurses’ interventions should focus on gaining trust from African American clients while nurses are working with African Americans. The church has been the major provider of social support for African Americans. Social support may be directly linked to health by promoting healthy behaviors, or by supplying information (Pender, et al., 2006, p. 232-233). To reach the most people and get the most participation, we have to take healthcare to the community and not expect them to come to us. Promotion can begin with an announcement from the minister during Sunday worship. During this time, the minister can introduce the healthcare team that will be conducting the screening. This is important because they trust the clergy, and the church is a safe venue. Many screenings, such as public screenings for measuring blood cholesterol and blood sugar and blood screenings for cancer and HIV, can be done at the church. Medical equipment, such as portable mammography and portable x-ray, can be also brought in. Blood pressure screening can be an easy on going screening or monitoring either at the church or fire station. Video tapes, DVD’s, CD’s and printed materials that cover a variety of health topics can all be made available. The multimedia tools can be viewed either in the home if the necessary equipment is available or in the church. We should bring in Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician’s Assistants to provide specific answers to questions. Schools can be a good source of information for children and teenagers. With younger children, we can promote good nutrition, physical activity, and child safety. With teenagers in addition to these, we can teach them about safe sex practices, prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and smoking cessation. Schools can offer different forms of involvement to parents in health promotion, ranging from receiving information to participating in decision-making. Students clubs can be launched in high institutions to organize seminars for college students in order to promote health because college students are especially vulnerable to a variety of risky behaviors. Many racial and ethnic minority groups, such as African Americans, have persistently higher rates of illness and death than the U.S. population as a whole. The reality of health disparities continues to severely impact our nation’s health. As racial and ethnic minority groups continue to make up an increasingly larger percentage of the U.S. population, there is an urgent need to reduce health disparities to improve our nation's health status. Our president Obama recently signed a health reform bill into law. The passage of health insurance reform legislation represents a historic victory for the American people. The health reform is an important cornerstone to eliminate health disparities in the United States. By eliminating health disparities, we can improve the future health of America.Conclusion Considered as a vulnerable group in this country, African Americans experience worse health outcomes. Today’s nurses will be increasingly expected to provide care to vulnerable populations. To promote health in African Americans, nurses must design and implement culturally competent health-promotion plans.ReferencesAmerican Cancer Society. (2010). Cancer facts & figures for Africa Americans. Retrieved from American Diabetes Association. (2009). Living with diabetes. Retrieved from . living-with-diabetes/complications/african-americans-and-complications. htmlAmerican Heart Association. (2010). Heart disease & stroke statistics. Retrieved from http: //downloadable/heart/1265665152970DS-3241%20Heart StrokeUpdate_2010.pdfBryd, M. (2000). An American health dilemma: A medial history of African Americans and the problem of race. New York, NY: Routlege. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). African American populations. Retrieved from , D. D., & Workman. M. L. (2006). Medical-surgical nursing: Critical thinking for collaborative care (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders.National Stroke Association. (2009). African Americans and stroke. Retrieved from . site/PageServe?pagename=AAMER Pender, N. J., Murdaugh, C. L., & Parsons, M. A. (2006). Health promotion in nursing practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Tomey, A. M., & Alligood, M. R. (2006). Nursing theorists and their work (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders.U.S. Department of Commerce. (2009). Black history month: February 2010. Retrieved from . Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). Income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2008. Retrieved from legislation represents a historic victory for the American people. ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download