...Reducing health disparities and achieving equitable health care remains an important goal for the New Zealand healthcare system. Engendering cultural competence in our physicians is widely recognized as a mechanism to reduce these disparities through culturally sensitive and unbiased healthcare. We define cultural competence in regards to healthcare as ‘care that respects diversity in the patient population and cultural factors that can affect health and health care, such as language, communication styles, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors’ (Ref). Research has shown that cultural competence training improves the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of clinicians that are related to caring for diverse populations, including facilitating a richer dialogue with the patient which removes barriers to seeking and sharing more information during medical visits. Cultural competence training also has also been demonstrated to improve patient satisfaction. Although there are only a few published...
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...Health Disparities Health disparities are the health issues that different groups of people have based on many factors. These factors include race, gender, economic status, and age. Many types of disparities exist in the United States, mostly in health. This disparity in health has been an issue for many decades. Individuals with less education are more likely to experience a number of health risks. These health risks include obesity and substance abuse compared to those with more education. “Other influences on healthcare include the availability of access to high-quality education, nutritious food, health insurance, and decent and safe housing” (Disparities). As the population becomes more diverse it is important that we acknowledge health disparities. One of the health disparities that this diversing of the population involves is the access and quality care cannot keep up with the demands. “Today a number of groups are at a disproportionate risk of being uninsured, lacking access to care, and experiencing worse health incomes including people of color and low come individuals”. (Kaiser) Today the life expectancy of American’s is much greater than it was 50-100 years ago. Thus, meaning our elderly are much more in need or good health care and insurance. Even though health has improved for our older generation and the life expectancy has grown some do not receive equal health care based on their income. The CDC recognizes this is a continuing problem and they are trying to...
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...African American Health Care Analysis Cheryl Robinson Capella University CST5500 Multi-Cultural Issues in Health Care Crobinson82@capellauniversity.edu Dr. C Vaugh Abstract It is a cliché of health education that programs and interventions will be more effective when they are culturally appropriate for the populations they serve. In practice, however, the strategies used to achieve cultural appropriateness vary widely. This paper briefly describes African American history and how it relates to health care services. It explains the culture, value and belief of African American when it involves health promotion and disease prevention. Some major health concerns and barriers are noted within the black communities and population as well as way to promote health and disease prevention throughout the African American communities. History of African American population African Americans first arrived to the United States as a crew on a pirate ship in the year 1619. The American population saw these new immigrants as an opportunity and captured many of the six million African immigrants and sold them as slaves (Bennett, 1992 as cited in Edelman & Mandle, 2002). The African American community suffered through a history of slavery and discrimination which has led to their current health and wellness problems. Many of their current problems have been linked to the segregation and cruel treatment that they were subjected to in the past, but African Americans have...
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...Minority Health Care Joseph A. Campbell University of Phoenix Minority Health Care Americans would prefer to believe that as a society there has been progress concerning equality among the sexes and races. Over the years there have been huge strides such as women gaining the right to vote, and the passage of the equal rights bill. Unfortunately, with all the good that has transpired over the years there are still parts of American society that are still heavily influenced by race; health care is one of those areas. “A large and growing body of research indicates that race/ethnicity continues to matter in the U.S. health care system. About 1 in 3 residents of the United States self-identify as either African Americans, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific American, or Latino” (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2011, p1). The reality for many of these Americans is that when comparing their health indicators against the rest of the population (White Americans) the results are a higher rate of illnesses and deaths from health conditions such as stroke, heart diseases, diabetes, specific cancers, asthma, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and hepatitis-b (Office of Minority Health, 2010). Many Americans have access to needed health care; however there are certain barriers that make it very hard for much of the population to receive the help they need. Lack of insurance and the inability to access health care providers are some of the barriers that face many Americans. ...
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...Health Disparities Solutions: Nurses Can Make a Difference Can Nurses make a difference in reducing health disparities? I believe we can make a big difference, Nurses can work with communities in a “grassroots” type movement to bring attention to the gravity of the inequities built into our current healthcare system. Healthcare is first and foremost about people, and care should be directed by the needs of the people it serves. Secondly, caring is foundational to nursing and this is a concept must be deeply woven throughout all points of health care. The third aspect is the vast pit of inequalities in healthcare; the injustices, denial of treatment and quality healthcare to minorities and the disadvantaged poor. Nurses are known patients advocates, therefore nurses are well equipped, to become leaders, in constructing equitable changes in the system and improve the model of care. Nurses are well- appointed in their understanding, negotiating skills, knowledge of healthcare and patient centered care, to provide guidance and direction to implement meaningful changes. Research in health disparities has identified, that the U.S is burdened by huge social and economic inequalities; it identifies, discrimination, social status, income inequality, and policy decisions as the principal causes of health disparities. The nursing profession needs to reconsider its role and its purpose in reducing health disparities, they need to be proactive in establishing...
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...Current Health Status In July 2013, 40.8 million (2013) people in the United States were African American (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). The Center for Disease and Prevention (CDC) reports that 14.6% of African-Americans are in fair or poor health, as compared with the national average. 48% of African Americans, suffer from a chronic illness that results in premature morbidity and mortality, as compared to 39% of the general population (Brandon & Proctor, 2010, p. 590). This population has a higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hypertension, and diabetes. According to Health Statics of U.S. Adults, African Americans were more likely to have been diagnosed with diabetes compared to non-Hispanic white...
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...Healthcare Disparities amongst minorities Racial and ethnic minorities have a predisposition to obtain a lower quality of healthcare than those of non-minorities, even when access-related factors, such as a patients’ insurance status and income, are measured. The sources of these disparities are complex, and are rooted in historic and contemporary injustices, and includes numerous participants at several levels, including health systems, their administrative and bureaucratic processes, utilization managers, healthcare professionals, and patients. Research and studies have found indications that stereotyping, prejudices, and uncertainty on the behalf of healthcare providers can all contribute to unequal treatment. The situations in which many clinical encounters take place - written off as high time pressure, cognitive complexity, and pressures for cost containment, may perhaps increase the chance that these practices will consequently result in care poorly matched to minority patients’ needs. Minorities can experience a range of other barriers to accessing care, even when insured at the same level as Caucasians; which may include language barriers, geographical areas, and cultural familiarities. Furthermore, financial and institutional arrangements of health systems, as well as the legal, regulatory, and political atmosphere in which they function, may have unequal and negative effects on minorities’ capability to reach quality care. A widespread, multi-level...
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...HEALTH DISPARITIES Health disparity is defined as inequality in health or the gaps in the quality of health care across races, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Health disparities can also be defined as the significant differences between one population and another. The Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 describe these disparities as differences in the overall rate of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, mortality or survival rates. Disparity in health is significant among some income, racial, and ethnic groups in America and is still expanding. Many Americans are in poor health and do not receive the best medical care. While these problems affect people of all groups, the challenges are especially acute for racial and ethnic minorities. When there is element of racism, poverty, and problematic community environment converge greater overall threats to health develop. The most powerful causes of health and health disparity are social and economic determinants or the community conditions for health. There are many reasons why disparities in access to of health care exist in our society. A lot of low income people in America cannot afford health insurance and as such they neglect their health. Some people cannot afford money to buy medication. Because these people did not have insurance they lack a regular source of care. African Americans compared to white minority groups are less likely to seek medical care...
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...| Disparity of Healthcare for AIDS/HIV Patients | Lana Iris English 12312/15/14 | Disparity of Healthcare with Patients with AIDS/HIV For the last thirty years AIDS/HIV has been a controversial topic, but more recently, the disease itself has not been controversial but the disparity in receiving proper care both in prevention modalities and active treatment for the disease. While the Obama administration has taken steps toward the elimination of these disparities through the National HIV/AIDS Strategy and Implementation Plan, there is still much work to be done. This brief highlights underexplored explanations for these disparities and outlines possible solutions to begin addressing them. Oftentimes, popular culture has offered unfortunately erroneous explanations for the stark racial disparate impact of HIV/ AIDS. The mass media, for example, has suggested that black men “on the down low” infect black women by secretly sleeping with male partners, acting as a bisexual “bridge” between gay and straight communities. But public health scholars have found little support for this theory. Many may assume that black people suffer from greater HIV prevalence because they are considered less sexually responsible than whites. Yet several studies have shown that black women and black men who have sex with men—the two groups most severely impacted by HIV/AIDS—have similar numbers of sexual partners and use condoms as often as their white counterparts. Thus, behavioral risk factors...
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...Heath Status of The Latino or Hispanic Population Maria Funez NRS-429V Family-Center Health Promotions February 29, 2015 Heath Status of The Latino or Hispanic Population Hispanics migrate to the United States for many different reasons but one of the most powerful motivators of migration whether legal or illegal is economic instability within the countries of origin. Although, is dangerous crossing the Mexican boarder to reached the U.S. the hopes for a better life is a powerful motivator to risk one’s life. Once in the U.S. Many Hispanics assimilate to the American life by means of education, learning a trade, and obtaining good paying jobs. Others have a harder time to assimilate to American culture due to the inability to learn the language, lack of education, or skills to facilitate better paying jobs. The Hispanic or Latino population in the United States has become one of the fastest growing minority groups in the country. According, to the United States Census Bureau (2010), there are 50.5 millions Hispanic or Latinos living in the United States. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010, p.2). Nevertheless, the Hispanic population is facing many challenges; some of those challenges are associated to health. In deed, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the health status, how is health promotions define, and what health disparities’ exist for the Hispanic or Latino population in the U.S. According to Smith et al. (as cited by Page-Reeves, Nifaratus, Mishra, Gingrich, &...
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...Health disparities are defined as unequal burdens in disease morbidity and mortality rates which are often experienced by the minority racial/ethnic groups. In today’s population ethnic and racial disparities exist for various and intricate reasons, which has grave impacts on an individual’s access to health care. These disparities have been around for several centuries and continue to be problematic despite the little progression being made with the revisions of preexisting health care laws. Laws and regulations are continually being revised to allow further health insurance expansions in hopes to reduce the ethnic and racial disparities for access to adequate care. Even with the increase in awareness, policymakers and clinicians have...
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...CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN HEALTH CARE: EMERGING FRAMEWORKS AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES Joseph R. Betancourt Massachusetts General Hospital–Harvard Medical School Alexander R. Green and J. Emilio Carrillo New York-Presbyterian Hospital–Weill Medical College of Cornell University FIELD REPORT October 2002 Support for this research was provided by The Commonwealth Fund. The views presented here are those of the authors and should not be attributed to The Commonwealth Fund or its directors, officers, or staff. Copies of this report are available from The Commonwealth Fund by calling our toll-free publications line at 1-888-777-2744 and ordering publication number 576. The report can also be found on the Fund’s website at www.cmwf.org. CONTENTS About the Authors.......................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... iv Executive Summary......................................................................................................... v Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Findings........................................................................................................................... 3 Defining Cultural Competence ..............................................................................
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...1 HEALTH DISPARITIES 2 The Health of Hispanic and Latinos Health disparities in the diverse American demography creates challenges in the overall health status of ethnic minorities. Tragic disadvantages on obtaining optimal health care can be linked to variables such as being from a specific socioeconomic status, race, geographic location, age, gender, mental health, genetic background, or having a disability. This injustice on how health care is being provided is debilitating for patients and the communities that they live in. Statistics Reviewing the statistics for Hispanics in the community against other groups indicates that the overall health of ages is fair or poor health in 9.6% of the population (National Center for Health Statistics, 2015). Another alarming statistic is that 16.4% of men and 7.4% of woman above 18 smoked cigarettes (National Center for Health Statistics, 2015). The rate of people under the age of 65 who did not have health insurance was over 25.5 percent (National Center for Health Statistics, 2015). Many of the diseases in the top categories that caused death in this population were cancer and heart disease (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011). Ethnic Disparities The racial ethnic disparities was greatest in both income and education for Hispanics and Non-Hispanic American Indians/ Alaskan Natives in the year 2011 (Disparities in Healthcare Quality Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups, 2014). Hispanics struggle...
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...Latangela Stewart SOC -358: Health Disparity Paper 2 April 23, 2013 How Can Diabetes In Low Income African Communities Be Resolved It’s hard to fathom the affects that diabetes has taken in our low income African American communities. Now we have to look at what we can do and have done to help the people who are a part of this health disparity overcome this socioeconomic tragedy. We first have to look at clinical barriers which play a large role on how physicians are interacting with their patients. Even though there are the sociocultural differences between the patient and the provider we have to look at the fact that they both have different health and medical beliefs. With that being known that is where the level of trust has to be obtained. Due to sociocultural difference the physician’s knowledge of the needs of their patients has to be well rationalized. There is an obvious and direct link between these structural barriers and quality of care that remains a fertile area for intervention (Betancourt, Green, Carrillo, & Anaheh-Firempong, 2003). With the racial disparities in the U.S. health care system, there has to be many ways that this health disparity can be prevented. Many low income families feel that they receive the shorter end of the stick when it comes to good decent healthcare. Socioeconomic has it many disadvantages and advantage and what it meant by that is when you are living in a poor rural area; you more likely to be less educated or unhealthy, which...
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...complications. The focus of this project is to educate nurses about cultural competency, barriers that Hispanics face, and how to improve their quality of life by making a lifestyle change. Experience at the Workplace Working with Hispanic immigrants and Hispanic nationals at my facility has given me firsthand exposure to their struggles and barriers that they face in the healthcare system. Working with other nurses has exposed me to the sad reality that the majority of them lack cultural competency, sensitivity and understanding for this particular vulnerable group. In my experience, most of my co- workers view Hispanic clients as a burden to the system rather than as a person that needs support, understanding and guidance to overcome the health disparities and barriers they face in our healthcare system. During this project, I interviewed and shared with two of my co-workers a brochure I developed, designed to increase awareness about the vulnerability of Hispanics, based on their culture and illness. Concepts were covered about the importance of health literacy, culture and its influence on patient’s disease management, barriers that they face, and techniques that ultimately motivate clients to make a lifestyle change. The risk for Hispanics in the United States to develop type 2 diabetes is twice that of non-Hispanics whites (CDC, 2005). In an attempt to reduce health care disparities within the United States, the Department of...
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