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Health Promotion Among Diverse Populations

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Health Promotion Among African Americans
Family-Centered Health Promotion
02/22/2015

African Americans or Blacks have been a part of our countries history for very long time now. They have been, up until the recent years, treated unequally and discriminated. Unfortunately discrimination against African Americans and Blacks are still prevalent today. Their past in our country is not something we should ignore; rather use it as a tool of understanding the African American culture. Their perception of healthcare and their willingness to seek help could be linked to the fear of social discrimination and the possibility of being treated differently if the healthcare providers are predominately white. The health disparities among African Americans today is something that cannot be ignored and is something that healthcare professionals need to take seriously. This paper will talk about the health disparities among African Americans and how we can make change to this by approaching the problem with health promotion and prevention techniques. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015, the population of African Americans is estimated to be a 45 million; which is 15.2 percent of the United States population. Around 14.7 percent of the African American populations are shown statistically to live in fair or poor health. This particular race is known to suffer from high incidences of Heart Disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, poverty and high crime rate. All of these health disparities are either the cause of genetic predisposition, lack of education or financial issues. Healthcare providers need to be aware of this minority groups disadvantages and be able to promote health with these patients and educate them so they can properly prevent future complications. Such complications can go as far as End Stage Renal Disease which is a common complication that occurs as a result of longstanding, uncontrolled hypertension.

Using the Health Belief Model, healthcare providers can understand and predict this particular ethnic groups overall health and their willingness to change their lifestyle to better their health. Understanding the barriers that accompany this minority group will help gear healthcare providers care plan in education and health promotion. All of the factors associated with high mortality rate and chronic diseases with African Americans can easily be managed with the correct education and resources. Some barriers associated with African Americans are their low socioeconomic status that can in turn, have an impact on their perception and understanding of health. “The United States Census Bureau (2012) states the median income in 2011 for African Americans was $33,223 whereas white Americans earned $53,444 during the same time period” (Huntley, Heady, 2014). Financial burdens can most defiantly impact a person’s decision, no matter what the race, on whether or not they perceive seeking medical help as a necessary action or not. Research also suggests that the environment in which the particular African American lives can either positively or negatively affect their health status. Hypertension is seen to be higher in areas where the African Americans are segregated and are in poverty stricken areas as opposed to the opposite. Where there is poverty, there are people who are lacking the proper nutritional needs, exercise and education on the importance of maintaining ones health. When living in conditions such as these, stress can contribute to the everyday living situations and stress is one of the factors that help precipitate hypertension. When considering health promotion and prevention for African Americans, consideration of the cultural barriers and their self-care attitudes must be assessed. Primary prevention can be achieved by establishing a trusting relationship with the patient and assessing their preferred learning style. Providing them with factual information and resources to programs that can help support them with their financial issues, can impact their health positively. Putting word out, that there are community organizations that team up with healthcare professionals such as churches, can influence members of the black community to seek medical help. “The church is highly regarded as one of the most trusted institutions among many African Americans…and has been instrumental in building effective screening and prevention programs” (Lumpkins et al., 2013). If the individual is found to have a health disparity significant to African Americans such as Hypertension, Secondary prevention techniques should be utilized. Telling them the importance of taking their prescribed blood pressure medication and the consequences of stopping the cold turkey is very important to secondary prevention techniques. Also, providing them with dates and exams that they should be going to- to help keep an eye on their blood pressure and how effective their management is. Another example of secondary prevention would be teaching them how to personally screen their blood pressure. Providing them with information on how to properly take their blood pressure at home will help them keep an eye on their pressures. Tertiary prevention would be taking care of them after the uncontrolled blood pressure has done harm to other organs of their body or cause them to have a heart attack. Teaching is utilized with all three prevention techniques and should never be overlooked. There are plenty of ethnic groups that experience health disparities more often than they should. As healthcare providers we need to do our research and properly take care of these individuals. It is up to us to dig up the proper information about them and offer them the right tools and treatment that can help improve their quality of life. For African Americans, we have to understand their cultural and financial barriers that may lead to an increase in chronic diseases and increased mortality rates.

References
Huntley, M., & Heady, C. (2013). Barriers to health romotion in african american men with hypertension. American Journal of Health Studies, 28(1), 21-26.
Lumpkins, C. Y., Greiner, K., Daley, C., Mabachi, N. M., & Neuhaus, K. (2011, October 1). Promoting healthy behavior from the pulpit: Clergy share their perspectives on effective health communication in the african american church. Journal of Religous Health, 52, 1093-1107.
Minority Health (2015, February 12). In Centers for disease control and prevention. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/minorityhealth/populations/REMP/black.html

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