Health promotion among diverse populations

Health Promotion

Minority health is one of the most critical components of public health promotion in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014), "some minorities experience a disproportionate burden of preventable disease, death, and disability," versus "non-minorities," meaning whites. Health promotion depends on ensuring equitable distribution of resources as a matter of social justice. While there are many diseases endemic to specific populations for genetic reasons, health disparity among different minority groups is more often than not related to socio-economic factors ranging from perceived accessibility of the health care system, the system being unable to meet the needs of cultural or linguistic diversity, and the impact of poverty on health outcomes. This paper will analyze the implications for health disparities in the United States by focusing on one of the largest ethnic contingencies in the United States, African-Americans.

Health Status of African-Americans

The leading causes of death among African-Americans include heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. These are roughly in line with national averages for all ethnic groups, as heart disease and cancer are the two top leading causes of death for all Americans (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). However, historically African-Americans have poorer health outcomes than whites. African-Americans have a "higher prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and sexually transmitted infections when compared with Whites," (Dreeben, 2001). Not only are prevalence rates higher; so too are mortality rates. African-Americans have the highest mortality rates for cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic lower respiratory disease, diabetes, and stroke vs. Caucasians and most other ethnic groups (Henderson, 2014). Current health status among African-Americans indicates that African-Americans are equally as likely to die of heart disease as whites but generally suffer from preventable diseases more often than need be (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).

Barriers to Health

Substandard housing, inadequate nutrition, stress, lack of insurance coverage, and lack of access to quality or affordable health care are the key barriers to health among African-Americans. A lack of culturally appropriate or culturally sensitive health care options is also a barrier to health among the African-American community (Dreeben, 2001). Religious beliefs, peer influences, and social stigmas associated with some disease are also barriers to health in this community (Henderson, 2014).

There are more than 40 million African-Americans in the United States, including those who are multi-racial. Thus another potential barrier to health in the African-American community is its inherent diversity. Many black Americans are not the descendants of slaves but are more recent immigrants from the Caribbean or Africa and therefore may have different etiological backgrounds or risk factors. Diversity issues need to be addressed in order to deliver proper public health intervention programs. There are also socio-economic differences within the black community that make it impossible to generalize about barriers to health.

Health Promotion and Level of Prevention

Primary prevention focuses on global issues. For example, lifestyle choices leading to preventable diseases need to be cultivated at an early age, and therefore educators need to recognize the relevance of empowering children to make choices that will affect their future. Likewise, changing community infrastructure to promote more physical activity and increase access to healthy foods will also be crucial to improving health outcomes in America's black communities. Empowerment, both personal and community empowerment, is the key to health promotion in the African-American community. Most of the health disparities and issues in the African-American community are preventable. Therefore, changes to lifestyle can reduce health disparities and promote health among individuals and the community as a whole.