...American Indian and Alaska Native Populations: How They Fair vs. the National Average Kari L. Singer Grand Canyon University: NRS- March 1, 2015 American Indian and Alaska Native Populations: How They Fair vs. the National Average There are many different ethnicities and cultures in the United States. This paper will be comparing American Indians and Alaska Natives health to that of the national average. We will be looking at the current health status of this ethnic group compared to the national average, their definition of Health Promotion, three health disparities affecting this ethnic group, and finally we will see an example of a program that promotes health prevention. Current Health Status of American Indians and Alaska Natives The American Indian and Alaska Native populations make up about 2% of the total U.S. population, numbering roughly 5.2 million, according to the 2013 census. American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), differ from the national average in culture, socioeconomic status, and education. The percentage of AI/AN’s who lacked health insurance in 2013 was 26.9% compared to the 16.6% of the national average (CDC, 2015). They have limited access to employer-sponsored health coverage due to working in low wage jobs and jobs that don’t offer insurance (Artiga, et. al., 2013). AI/AN have the highest poverty rate of all ethnic groups at 0.9% to 1.5% of the total population. This group is more likely to report being in fair or poor health. When comparing...
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...Concerning disease, research papers report that the medical field believes that disease is the result of physical changes within the body. This philosophy of science has led to a narrow focus upon pathogens that create illness. Modern medicine looks to biochemical factors, levels of immunology, nutrition, and environmental toxins as causing disease. To eradicate disease or illness, then these elements thought to cause the difficulties must some how be changed. There are several implications of this treatment of disease. One is that given the sophistication of causality and treatment, the medicine man or physician must be well trained in the complexities of this field. Another is that equally sophisticated or technologically advanced tools must be created or developed to ascertain the precise disease in order to prescribe the precise treatment that is necessary to affect a cure. Still another implication is that the medicine must be specific in order to attack and kill whatever it is causing the illness. Modern medicine appears to have met the challenge of these implications with regard to developing treatments that will cure most diseases. Interestingly, the diseases that continue to plague modern medicine are diseases that did not exist in the pre-European world of Native Americans. Heart disease and cancer, the two illnesses that are fatal and impact contemporary Americans, continue to sometimes have fatal consequences. Below is a list of some of the most common diseases known...
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...Native American Medicines Axia College University of Phoenix Native medicine has always excelled in the treatment of wounds and surgery, such as mending broken bones etc, a branch of medicine that during the pioneer era was a most barbaric torture in western medicine. Hygiene was poor and anaesthetics unknown. Barbers doubled up as surgeons. Even today Western medicine is indebted to indigenous medicine for the most commonly used anaesthetic derived from Coca .A plant that South American Indian doctors have used for this purpose since pre-Colombian times. Indeed there are numerous plants of both south and North American Native origin that have enriched modern western herbalist and medicine. However, in Native traditions it is not just the plant that makes the medicine, but foremost the power of the spirit that governs the plant. A plant as such would be considered useless unless it were gathered and prepared with due respect, prayer and rituals with which the healer seeks the support of the plant spirit to help him affect a cure. Native American Medicines: Even though, Native American Medicines have no real threat to our bodies. Are Native American Medicines better for us than Traditional medicines with no side affects because Native American Medicines have been around for years and are still being used today and Native American Medicines have no real side affects like traditional medicines do. The most important...
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...culturally diverse nations in terms of the tolerance and harmony between the resident cultures. All this can been attested to the fact that America is an Immigration Country. The country constitutes people from different parts of the world. The process of people moving into the new world that is the Americas where the United State lies began centuries ago and has been an ongoing process to the current day. This paper examines the origins of their Native Americans. This paper also explores their journey into the Americas as the first Immigrants. Their settlement patterns and ways of life will also be examined. The paper also explores how the Native Americans in the Americas fared during the European conquest of the region that is currently identified as the America. Euro-Indian relations, conflicts and their aftermath is also a focus point of the paper, which culminates into the current state of affairs of the Native American community in the Americas. Origins of the Native Americans There are diverse sources of information on the origins and history of the Native Americans. They include oral history passed down through generations. This oral history is as diverse as the Indian Nations. Different tribes have different folklore to explain their origins. For instance, the Haida who reside in British Columbia say that man was shaken out of a clam shell by a raven. The Navajo of Arizona say they sprung out of the ground after which there was a time of great wandering and searching for...
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...Regulatory Agency Paper University of Phoenix HCS 430 Legal Issues in Healthcare: Regulation and Compliance June 8, 2008 The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is one of the many agencies that handle an array of healthcare departments as well as research. The DHHS caters to citizens of all nationalities, race, and ethnicities. The DHHS focus is to protect the health of all Americans and providing the highest level of human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The Public Health Service is divided into 42 subdivisions (Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). This paper will give highlights of the history of the DHHS, the source and scope of authority, how the day-to-day operations are guided and performed, and how DHHS is structured. In addition, examples are given as to the duties that are carried out within the department of the DHHS. History of the Agency The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was established in 1953 and was referred to as the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1979, the agency was recreated and renamed as the Department of Education. The DHHS agency has many components within the agency that handles and maintains day-to-day operations. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Source and scope of authority According to the statement Office of Inspector General (OIG), the text reads that OIG will ensure that disseminated information meets the standards...
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...persons of diverse cultures.” Purnell (2013) explains if the care plan doesn’t include the patient’s own health cultural viewpoints; the plan will more than likely not be followed. Native American people place high importance on their culture and heritage. Interacting with this unique group of people, becoming more knowledgeable, and culturally sensitive to their needs is the basis for this paper. By increasing knowledge and appreciating the Native American culture, nurses may improve communication to better care for their Native American patients. Even though the Native American population in Colorado is a mere 56,000, according to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, it has grown from 1.1 percent to 1.6 percent of...
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...Health Promotion in American Indians/Alaska Natives Mona Reed Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V August 02, 2015 Health Promotion in American Indians/Alaska Natives American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) are people who maintain a tribal or community attachment and are descendants from any of the original inhabitants of North, South and Central America. The U.S. Census Bureau, in 2013, reported that there are greater than 5.2 million AI/AN in the United States, and that number is expected to increase to 11.2 million by 2060 (CDC, 2015a). AI/ANs have experienced a lower health status when compared to the national average of the non-Hispanic white population. The Indian Health Service (IHS), who provides health care services to those who reside on reservations, reports that this is due to inadequate education, discrimination in delivery of health services, disproportionate poverty and cultural differences. Also noted is that less than half of “AI/ANs permanently reside on a reservation and therefore have limited or no access to IHS services” (Indian Health Service, 2015a). In addition, the CDC reported in 2013 that 26.9% of AI/ANs lacked health insurance coverage. This writer will compare and contrast the health status of the AI/AN population with the non-Hispanic White population. Health disparities in the AI/AN population are well documented in research. The Office of Minority Health (OMH) Health Disparities Overview notes that this population suffers from low education...
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...Alaskan Native and Health Promotion The Alaskan Native and Health Promotion In the United States in 2013 there were 11.2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives nation wide representing approx. 2% of the population. The state with the highest population percentage of natives was Alaska, with 134,361 accounting for 14.3% of the population (United States Census Bureau. 2013). It is this group that is going to be focused on now in this paper because of the unique issues and barriers that are found in attempting health promotion within this minority. Many different problems arise when attempting change in the region ranging from education levels, large cultural differences, geological isolation, and substance abuse. There is a strong and deep-seated lack of trust towards anyone who is not from the area because of past mistakes and abuses. In 1950 46% of all Alaskan native deaths were because of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases which were brought in by outsiders (Alaska Native Health Status Report. 2009). The medical profession to this day is still regarded as a possible threat instead of an asset especially by the older population. What level of health promotion prevention will work best to facilitate the changes needed in Alaskan Native health? The current health status of Alaska natives is well below the national average in a multitude of ways. It has improved markedly in the past couple of decades but still needs considerable attention. The Alaskan Native population...
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...Promotion Among Asian Americans Robert Ramirez Grand Canyon University: NRS-429V Family-Centered Health Promotion February 22, 2015 Health Promotion Among Asian Americans The U.S. Public Health Service defines health promotion as “the process of advocating health in order to enhance the probability that personal, private, and public support of positive health practices will become a societal norm” (Edelman, Mandle, & Kudzma, 2014). Health is a basic human right; optimal health is a well-balanced structure of emotional, physical, spiritual, psychological, intellectual, and social well-being. The purpose of health promotion in nursing is to increase health knowledge that will in turn positively influence health behaviors of individuals and communities (Foster, 2012). Roughly 36% of the U.S. population is made up of various ethnic or racial minorities. Of that 36%, 4.8% were Asian Americans. According to the Office of Management and Budget, “Asians” consist of people that originate from the Far East, Southeast Asia, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan Thailand, Vietnam, or the Philippine Islands (CDC, 2014). These 14.7 million people are dispersed throughout the country, with Hawaii having the largest concentration (57%) of the total Asian population (CDC, 2014). The CDC (2014) states that minority groups “experience a disproportionate burden of preventable disease, death, and disability compared with non-minorities.” This paper will concentrate on...
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...14, 2015 The purpose of this paper is to discuss the health status of the American Indian/ Alaskan Native (AI/AN). A comparison and contrast of AI/ANs with the national average regarding the health status such as heart disease and strokes will be presented. Multifactorial barriers limiting health, and the overall factors affecting health within this population are identified. Current health status will be presented including health promotion and disparities among this US population. Primary, secondary, and tertiary health promotions will be discussed along with one approach to promoting health offered. According to the office of Management and Budget’s “American Indian or Alaskan Native” refers to one who has origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America, including Central America, and maintains ties and connections to a tribe or tribal community (United States Census Bureau, 2010). Results of the 2010 census revealed there were 5.2 million people or 1.7 percent of the population who were Native American/ Alaskan Native. Chronic diseases and risk factors among AI/AN groups remain high. When compared to white populations AI/ANs are more likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure, be obese, and smoke cigarettes ( Centers for Diseas Control, 2015). The death rates from heart disease is 20 percent greater and from strokes are 14 percent higher than all United States races (Centers for Disease Control, 2015). Diabetes affects 16...
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...Fohne HCS/330 December 06, 2010 Peter Mabrey Smoking and Lung Cancer Every year an estimated 392,000 people die from smoking -related diseases such as Lung cancer and another estimated 50,000 people die from secondhand smoke each year. Smoking is the number one preventable death within the United States. Of adults who have ever smoked most started at the age of 21 years old or younger. Smoking is directly responsible for over 90% of all lung cancer deaths (American Lung Association, 2010). The goal of this paper is to provide an analysis of lung cancer, which directly relates to smoking. Included in the analysis is an introduction of the disease, disease history, lung cancer etiology, affected populations, and possible treatments if any. By providing this information, one will understand why it is important to keep the younger generations from smoking and encouraging those who already smoke to quit, saving their lives and those around them from this unnecessary death known as lung cancer. When introducing lung disease one needs to know the emphasis from abstaining or acquiring help to quit smoking, which would greatly reduce the chances for someone to be affected by this deadly disease. Lung cancer is diagnosed by the results of abnormal cell growth in one or both lungs. This abnormal cell growth is located in the lungs and forms lumps or masses known as tumors. Once these tumors are determined...
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...Regulatory Agency Paper University of Phoenix HCS 430 Legal Issues in Healthcare: Regulation and Compliance June 8, 2008 The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is one of the many agencies that handle an array of healthcare departments as well as research. The DHHS caters to citizens of all nationalities, race, and ethnicities. The DHHS focus is to protect the health of all Americans and providing the highest level of human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The Public Health Service is divided into 42 subdivisions (Department of Health and Human Services, 2007). This paper will give highlights of the history of the DHHS, the source and scope of authority, how the day-to-day operations are guided and performed, and how DHHS is structured. In addition, examples are given as to the duties that are carried out within the department of the DHHS. History of the Agency The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) was established in 1953 and was referred to as the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1979, the agency was recreated and renamed as the Department of Education. The DHHS agency has many components within the agency that handles and maintains day-to-day operations. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Source and scope of authority According to the statement Office of Inspector General (OIG), the text reads that OIG will ensure that disseminated information meets...
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...Res/531 June 19, 2011 Dr. Ed Yancey Topic Childhood Obesity in the Mid-South is a growing disease. Description of Childhood Obesity Childhood Obesity is defined as children having the condition of being excessively overweight (The American Heritage, 2002). The Centers for Disease Control reports that this country has been struggling with obesity for well over 20 years now and regarding childhood obesity, it is no less daunting. Data from their surveys comparing the 1970's to the 2000's show that the prevalence of obesity has increased for children of all ages at least 3 times over to about 20% of our population less than 19 years old (adult obesity approaches almost 35% in some states). There is an eye-opening depiction of U.S. obesity trends by state and race/ethnicity over the past 4 years. Obesity appears to be most commonly seen in the African American, Hispanic, and Native American populations and in lower income families (CDC, 2009). Why this Topic This topic was chosen because there is an overwhelming increase of children who are suffering from this disease. Obese children are also more likely to become overweight adults. 70% of obese children had at least one Cardiovascular Disease risk factor, and 39% had two or more (Freedman, 2007). This paper will show why childhood obesity has become such an epidemic and what can be done to counter this disease. Description of Childhood Obesity Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects...
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...Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans, A new beginning in the United States North America is known to have various groups of different ethnic backgrounds and cultures. Most people in the United States if not them have ancestors who moved to the U.S for a better way of living or to escape challenges that arrived in their respected countries. According, to www.education.byu.edu Individuals of the Latin American origin contains over 14% of the population of the United States. The two groups that will be discussed in this paper will consist of American Mexicans the largest of the Hispanic groups and Puerto Ricans who are the second largest group of Hispanics in the United States. The Mexican American and Puerto Rican groups are the fastest growing group in such states as Utah, New York, Illinois, Texas, California, Arizona and Colorado. The Hispanic population continues to rise in the United States as more opportunities are given to them and this paper will introduce different challenges that these two Latino groups experienced in the United States. This paper will identify two of the largest growing Hispanic groups which consist of Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans. In this research paper I will recognize who these two groups are, where they originated, why these two groups migrated to the United States, and also include the challenges that they face pertaining to work, health, education, family, and religion. Originated and Migration Mexican Americans are identified...
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...Health Promotion Among Black or African American Population [Your Name] Grand Canyon University: Family-Centered Health Promotion(NRS-429V) January 10, 2016 Health Promotion Among Black or African American Population The Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2015) notes that “Starting in 1997, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires federal agencies to use a minimum of five race categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.” Each minority group differs in health status and disparities and health promotion. In this paper the writer will focus on a specific minority group, the Black or African Americans, and will compare the minority group’s current health status to the national average. Further the author will discuss which health disparities exist in this particular minority group and what health promotion means to them and then will discuss an a approach using the three levels of health promotion prevention that is the most effective given the unique needs of the minority group with an explanation of why it might be the most effective approach. The Black or African Americans make up 15.2% of the total United States population and consists of people of African American, Sub-Saharan African or Afro-Caribbean decent. It is the second largest minority population. The current health status of this minority group is continuing to get...
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