Free Health Promotion Among Diverse Populations   Creative Writing Example

According to the last census in the United Stated, the Hispanic population is estimated to be 54 million. That is representing 17% of the total population of the country. This estimates put the Hispanic as one of the largest minority group in the United State. The Hispanics are people whose origin can be trace back to Mexican, Cuban, Salvadorans, Dominican, Guatemalans, Colombian, Puerto Rican and other Spanish speaking people from the South America who migrated to the North America (CDC, 2014).

Compare and contrast the health status of the minority group you have selected to the national average

The statistics by CDC, the percentage of the female Hispanic s suffering from obesity is higher than the female white people who are non Hispanic and African American (CDC, 2014). This is mostly contributed to lower levels of engaging in the physical activities and unhealthy diets. Research has shown that the Hispanic children are less likely to engage in physical activities than other groups in the United State (José et al., 2006). On the other hand, various Researches have found out the Hispanic have a lower rate of smoking than any other groups in the United State. Additionally, the Hispanic community consumes low fat foods as their diet is mostly based on carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables. Hence, this habit expose them to lower risk of getting diseases which are associated with smoking such as lung cancer.
The total populations of the elementary and high school students, 23.3% are Hispanic (CDC, 2014). However, the Hispanic population constitutes about 6.8% of the total population of the college students. As a result, of this a high percentage of adults Hispanic don’t complete high school and college due to drop out which is mostly associated with lack of school fees and early pregnancy. As such, they cannot secure high income jobs. The statistics shows that the majority adults of Hispanic group have low income level which is less than the recommended poverty level compared to the non-Hispanic and white adults. Due to poor education, most of the Hispanic adults cannot secure white color jobs. As result they work in odd jobs which are highly risky to injuries and health problems.
According to the CDC reports, The Hispanic group w is leading in the people who are suffering from HIV. This is contributed mostly by the teenagers engaging in unprotected sexual activities at younger age. Furthermore, the Hispanic group has high rate of teenage girls drop out of school as a result of early pregnancy. The CDC reports show that in 2010 the Hispanic teenager girls had a high teenage birth rate than the white and other non Hispanic females. The statistic shows the teenager girls of between 15-19 years who got pregnant was twice high compare to white female of the same age. The number was slightly high compared to the non Hispanic black and approximately five times high than the percentage for Pacific Islanders and Asia (CDC, 2014).
The percentage of Hispanics who lacked health insurance stands roughly at 29.1% (CDC, 2014).This number is high compared to the white group who do not have the insurance cover. This means a large number cannot access quality and safe health care in the country. This pose a burden for many families since they have to dig deeper into their pockets pay the high cost of health care. This is a burden to many families since they have to cut budget to other essential like clothing, housing, education and quality food. This also in the long run poses health problems due to poor diet or poor hygiene. Moreover, due to lack of insurance this means they cannot access quality health care in good time especially during emergencies. This can lead to death or exposure to other infections in case a patient has deep wounds. Additionally, most of the Hispanics don’t have proper documents. Thus, they cannot get public insurance cover such as Obama care.
The statistics shows a that adult patient of 50-75 years, have a up to date knowledge on the colorectal cancer screening than the non Hispanic adults of other groups(CDC, 2014). According to the statistics, the Hispanic group overall have a few incidence of cancer as compared to the non Hispanic white and the African American. Furthermore, the records show the number of children who were vaccinated against influenza was much smaller than the white children who are non Hispanic of the same age. On the other hand, the adult Hispanic have high control of their blood pressure same as adults from the African American. The records show the Hispanic have a lower prevalence of getting a hypertension hence the chance of Hispanic adult patient getting a stroke or heart diseases due to blood pressure were much lower compared non Hispanic white or Asian American (José et al., 2006).
The statistics also shows that the Hispanics have a high rate of getting diabetes than non Hispanic white. This mostly associated with the lifestyle behavior such as poor dieting and genetic inheritance. This means the Hispanic people who are expose to other disease which are associated with diabetes such as the kidney diseases, heart diseases, blindness and peripheral nervous system damages (José et al., 2006).

Barriers in accessing health care

One of the major barriers of Hispanic group in receiving adequate health care is lack of proper records which gives a detail history of family health. Most of the Hispanic families migrated to United State in such of a better life. As they left their original country most of their health records were left behind. This gives health provider a hard time in treating common diseases which are associated with families’ genetics such as the cardiovascular (José et al., 2006).
Language acts as another barrier in accessing health care. Research show that a large numbers of Hispanic especially those who were not born in the United State have a difficulty in speaking and understanding fluent English. Thus, they have it had to communicate with health practitioner and they health practitioner take time to diagnose the patient. In addition most of Hispanics don’t have insurance due to lack proper document or lack of enough money to buy private insurance cover hence they cannot access quality health care.

Health promotions

There are a number of health promotion activities which are aimed disseminating information about health and improve the living standards of the Hispanic across the country. One of the initiatives is the collaboration between the CDC and the Hispanic-Serving Health Professions Schools (HSHPS). This collaboration aims at improving public health and empowers the workforce engaged in the community health programs in this community. The collaboration help in disseminating important health information, training community health care providers, provide funds for variety of programs and provide opportunities for employments or internships to individuals in the Hispanic community (CDC, 2014).
The best health promotion for this community is through various primary health care promotions starting with the change of policy in the United State and community empowerment. Various families in the Hispanic community live below poverty level due to poor salary. Thus, the government should pass laws which increase the minimum wages in the country and make the health care more affordable for those with no insurance cover. In addition the working conditions and environment for low income earners should be conducive and safe. This will help many families to access good housing, food and quality lifestyle. The community welfare organizations should be empowered with resources, training and staffs so that they can educate the community on various health matters. Moreover the Education system should be made more affordable and scholarship opportunities should be increased. This will encourage more pupils especially from poor families who cannot afford the current high fees to stay in school. Individuals with high education qualifications from this group can attain high income jobs; hence help their families out of poverty. The skills learned by graduates from this community such as nursing skills can be used within community and beyond to provide health care education to the community and help in case of an emergency. The teenagers who have dropped out of the schools can be encouraged to go back to school so as to better their lives (Tengland, 2012).
Conclusively, the Hispanic being the biggest minority community in the United State, face a variety of health challenges compared to other communities in the United State. These challenges can be traced to poor education, poor salary, unemployment, early pregnancy and lack of insurance cover. Thus, the government and other policy makers need to make proper laws and policies which will address the wage levels, education, employment opportunities and insurance cover. Additionally, the youths need to be empowered to realize their potential in life so that they can help their families and the community in general.

References

CDC. (2014).CDC - Hispanic - Latino - Populations - Racial - Ethnic - Minorities - Minority Health. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/hispanic.html
José J. Escarce and KanikaKapur.(2006). Access to and Quality of Health Care - Hispanics and the Future of America - NCBI Bookshelf. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19910/
José J. Escarce, Leo S. Morales, and Rubén G. Rumbaut. (2006). The Health Status and Health Behaviors of Hispanics - Hispanics and the Future of America - NCBI Bookshelf. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19899/
Tengland, P. A. (2012). Behavior change or empowerment: On the ethics of health-promotion strategies. Public Health Ethics, 5(2), 140-153.