Health Status of African Americans

Health Promotion in African Americans
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Health Promotion in African Americans
African Americans Current Health Status
For a long time, African Americans minority group has complained about their health welfare in the United States of America (USA). Many of the black people suffer from illnesses that would have been prevented if diagnosed earlier. However, due to the lack of hospital accessibility, African Americans' medical needs are neglected. For instance, this minority group has a high prevalence of cancer, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases compared to their white counterparts. Poor nutrition and substandard housing are common problems that African Americans encounter, which increase their health risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), young African Americans suffer or die from diseases that affect older whites (CDC, 2017). Black people have a high likelihood of chronic diseases since many of them do not seek early medical intervention, and they go to hospitals when their illnesses are in the advanced stages.
How Race and Ethnicity Influence the Health of African Americans
Race and ethnicity are two unfavorable factors that make African Americans suffer from healthcare inaccessibility. Racism and discrimination are among the problems that black people in the USA encounter. Although the situation has been improving day by day, these issues still affect African Americans. When it comes to prioritizing various communities' medical needs in the USA, black people are among the last ones to be considered. Their difference in skin color significantly contributes to discrimination whenever they visit hospitals for medical needs (Lewis & Dyke, 2018). Due to their socioeconomic status, African Americans are undermined when providing services that require more money. Additionally, since black people live in remote neighborhoods, their accessibility to hospitals has become a problem. However, the primary issue is that their race and ethnicity make it easy for them to be discriminated.
Health Disparities and Nutritional Challenges for African Americans
Health disparities among African Americans are higher as compared to those of their white counterparts. For example, black people have higher risks of cancer, influenza, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke than white people. African Americans' lifestyles and socioeconomic status contribute to the high prevalence of chronic illnesses. For example, poor nutrition among black people makes them prone to diseases since their bodies lack the stamina to fight against various diseases. Moreover, since many African Americans are middle and low-income earners, the money they get is not enough to lead healthy lifestyles (Derose et al., 2018). The majority of members of this minority group do not have health insurance. As such, they do not seek medical intervention when they get minor symptoms since they assume that the situation will get better. In that light, the lack of preventive care and poor nutrition of African Americans increase their health disparities.
Barriers Resulting From Cultural, Soci...