Creating a Health Promotion Program. Health Promotion Program among Hispanics in the United States

Health Promotion Program among Hispanics in the United States
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Health Promotion Program
The Hispanic population continues to face inequalities in the American healthcare system. Hispanics comprise 17.4% of the US population forming the largest ethnic minority (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Despite some substantial progress, health disparities continue to be a significant issue in Hispanic communities across the US. This has led to higher prevalence rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart diseases, or cancer. Also, it has limited access to preventive screening services such as blood pressure. This situation has led to poorer health outcomes among Hispanics compared to Whites. This paper examines factors that have led to health disparities amongst the Hispanic population and then describes a health promotion program to remedy the situation.
Factors that Contribute to Health Disparities
Social determinants
Some of the social issues that lead to health disparities in the Hispanic community, particularly in New York include poverty, housing, education, access to healthy food, employment, and violence. Hispanics record lower high-school and college graduates than Whites. This also leads to inequality in the job market with higher unemployment rates in Hispanic communities. As a result, Hispanics and Latinos record the highest levels of poverty in the US (Ludwig-Dehm & Iceland, 2017). Poor health outcomes and mortality are co-related with poverty (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Therefore, this makes them more susceptible to health conditions such as diabetes, heart ailments, and obesity. Besides, infant mortality remains higher in these communities. The poor quality of housing amongst these communities also leads to a higher prevalence of certain diseases. For example, Hispanics have an uneven incidence of asthma due to the lower quality of housing. Further, their present segregated conditions expose them to higher rates of cardiovascular diseases. Across the country, Hispanic neighborhoods have lower access to healthy food than other racial groups. Surveys show that food in Hispanic areas is of lower quality than in white regions. The majority of the food desserts are found in Hispanic communities, an indicator of higher food insecurity rates. This malnutrition results in pregnancy complications and low-birth-weight. Further, the disproportionately higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) amongst the Hispanic/Latina communities and other minorities negatively impact their health (Stockman, Hayashi & Campbell, 2015). These rates lead to higher cases of deaths, injuries, and disabilities.
Racial determinants
Racism causes Hispanics to experience discrimination and prejudice in the healthcare system. Regardless of the level of education, age, or sex, racism continues to marginalize the community. Racism has led to inadequate access to healthcare services, reduced health outcomes, and lower health insurance coverage. The burden of racism has impacted the mental health of Hispanics. Healthcare systems continue to show racial bias. Hispanics complain of receiving lower patient care in their communities (Cabassa et al., 2014). Besides, there have been notable ...