Description of the Hispanic/Latino Community Relative to their Health Status

Health Promotion in Minority Populations
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Health Promotion in Minority Populations
Description of the Hispanic/Latino Community relative to their Health Status
The Hispanic community in the United States constitute a sizeable population, particularly, with the intense focus on immigration policies and issues on the ground. Regardless, they represent about 18% of the country’s population, which is about 60 million Latinos. This number could have fluctuated with time as this research was conducted in 2017. This population has been on a steady increase considering that in 1980, they were only about 6.5% of the total U.S. population (Noe-Bustamante & Flores, 2019). The highest number of Latinos is found in the state of California, Texas, and Florida, which is quite comprehensible taking into account its proximity to Mexico from where most migrated. Being a minority group, Latinos face significant challenges when it comes to their health and this is apparent
The social determinants of health including but not limited to social support systems, occupation, education, income, cultural values, and macroeconomics affect the Hispanic in large numbers thereby exerting adverse health impacts. These structural and social position factors are borne from systemic racism that has plagued the country as various institutions are hesitant to incorporate necessary changes (Lee, Perez, Boykin, & Mendoza-Denton, 2019). On the other hand, health inequalities enhance the significance of SDH even further. Affected Hispanics are those related to their undocumented, foreign, occupation, cultural background, and socioeconomic statuses (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Another group that is growing steadily and receiving challenges to exceptional healthcare are Hispanic women. The inability to access health care makes them vulnerable to non-communicable diseases and death. Cigarette smoking, early pregnancies, and obesity are major health risks predominant in this demographic. How policies such as Medicaid and Medicare are formulated poses clear obstacles to them accessing healthcare.
Health Disparities and Nutritional Challenges
Health disparities refer to the differences that arise with close links to the social or economic disadvantages of a particular population. They are apparent among populations who have been exposed to consistent social and economic challenges to health. Also, these individuals could have been exposed to factors that impact their health based on their geographic location, gender identity, disabilities, age, gender, and ethnic group. These are circumstances that most Latinos face regularly.
Diabetes mellitus ranks as one of the greatest health concerns for most Hispanic families. The prevalence of this condition has rocketed since the ‘90s and so has related morbidity. One in every five participants involved in an investigative study conducted by NPR, Harvard School of Public Health, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation attested to this fact. The situation is even worse for Hispanics who have had an extended stay in the U.S. A modern-day Hispanic child has a 50% of acquiring this disease in their lifetime because of their high susceptibility to risk factors such a...