Cultural Presentation
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VanessaCulturepresentationsample.pptxCULTURE IN NURSING PRACTICE
Vanessa Camano
Florida National University
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INTRODUCTION
Despite the rich culture present in the United States, some cultural groups tend to do much worse that others, one of the being African-Americans.
This was recently exposed through the data from the Center for Disease Control on the scourge of the corona virus where death rates were seen to surpass those of any other group(Yancy, 2020).
African Americans’ death rates in general often exceed that of all other Americans and studies even show that white males can live approximately 7 years longer than African American males.
These statics prove that the African-American population is at an extremely great risk.
Additionally, the infant mortality rate of African American children is almost double the national average.
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HISTORY
The plight of African Americans in the health care system is not a new concept.
One of the reasons that has been credited for the disparities in health care among African-Americans is that they do not trust the health system.
This is fairly true considering the discrimination that has been meted on African Americans where during the pre-Civil War period, African Americans were used for non-consensual medical experiments(Fauci, 2001).
During the period of slavery, healthcare was provided to African Americans to ensure that they were able to work on the plantations.
Prior to the Civil War and abolition of slavery almost all African Americans were dependent on their masters for healthcare.
The health care that was afforded to African Americans was purely based on economic reasons, however, the overall quality of care that was afforded to African Americans was generally lower than that of other Americans.
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CONT…
Following the end of the Civil War, African Americans still had to fight for equal health care and this led to the establishment of 90 hospitals for African Americans, however, these were short lived(Fauci, 2001).
The discrimination was further rubber stamped by the state organs for example the Supreme Court in Plessy v Fergusson stated that segregation of African Americans was not a violation of the 14th Amendment(Fauci, 2001).
This decision led to the institutionalization of racism in the health care system to the extent that African Americans were excluded form medical school.
The barring of African Americans from studying medicine ensured that there were limited African American doctors and for those who were doctors before the decision in Plessy, they were not allowed to practice medicine in European American run hospitals. Moreover, during this period, African Americans were still at the risk of being experimented on for example the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.
This segregation remained in place until 1964 when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act which prohibited federally funded institutions from discriminating others on the basis of race and to ensure more protection for African Americans, there were efforts to make all hospitals accessible by establishment of the Medicare Program which made all hospitals recipients of federal funding. However, the disparities in health care were not completely eradicated.
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BACKGROUND
Studies have shown that among African Americans, religion is a powerful force.
Moreover, there is often a general mistrust of Caucasians.
A portion of the American population is often undervalued and not respected as people which then occasions a lot of mistreatment for them.
There are limited resources which are reserved for African Americans which then limits their ability to make lifestyle changes.
There seems to be a disconnect in communication between health care providers and African American patients since most care is not yet culturally competent.
Failure to make lifestyle changes exposes African Americans to more health risks for example the high prevalence of obesity and diabetes.
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COMPARATIVE AND CONTRAST ANALYSIS
Race is one of the key social determinants of health care.
Studies have shown that there is correlation between racism and access to health services.
Certain health risks are similarly associated with race, for example, lack of healthy foods and environmental exposure to harmful substances.
The distinguishing features of the African American community include the fact that education is limited, for example, studies have shown that fewer African American students graduate high school compared to non-Hispanic whites(Noonan, 2016).
The level of education plays a key role in the access to health c are services because most people who are uneducated end up getting low paying jobs which then denies them access to some of the basic health care services.
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Transportation among African American communities is often a challenge which prevents access to health care services.
This prevents such communities from seeking medical assistance regularly until they get to emergency cases.
This predicament is similar for Hispanic communities where they do not enjoy the benefit of preventive care.
This is different from how Caucasians are treated, because, even the level of attention given to the various patients is different because health care providers have the belief that African Americans are naturally stronger.
The notion that African Americans are stronger than other races is something that is still prevalent among various health care providers and that has led to the demise of many African Americans.
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In the US, African Americans are the least healthy ethnic group (Noonan, 2016).
Health disparities among various racial and ethic minorities takes a number of forms including higher rates of chronic disease and premature deaths(Baciu, 2017).
One of the determinants that may be considered is the infant mortality.
The National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) in 2016 reported that Native Americans and African Americans experienced the highest rates while Pacific islander mothers experienced lower rates(NCHS, 2016).
When compared to that of white infants, their mortality rates remained unchanged. However, the situation was slightly different for Hispanics where their health outcomes were affected by their country of origin which is a feature not evident among other groups.
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DIFFERENTIAL APPROACHES BY HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
One of the approaches that may be adopted is the improvement of the quality of care.
It is important to consider the quality of care that is given to patients and this can be made possible through encouraging access to health care services among communities which underuse the services.
Another approach to improving access to care is through putting in place payment reform systems through platforms like the ACA.
Rates of underinsured individuals are usually common among Latino, Black and Asian communities.
The lack of access to health care and insurance coverage is one of the factors that leads to increased disparities. Most ethic communities are from poor backgrounds which denies them proper care.
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Professionals can similarly consider adopting patient-centered medical home (PCMH).
A PCMH model should generally include a health equity dimension which addresses the social determinants of health in a defined population(Wasserman, 2019).
Moreover, as the US society becomes more diverse it is important for care providers to include cultural competence in their provision of care(Wasserman, 2019).
Awareness on the part of clinicians would ensure that patient-clinician relationship is improved and this may lead to more trust. This would particularly be important for the African American population which has been exposed to a lot of mistrust in the health care system.
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CONCLUSION
There are a number of cultural disparities among many ethnic populations in the US.
The most affected community is the African American population which has been disadvantaged historically and neglected.
African Americans are often looked down upon and a huge portion of the population does not value their existence.
It is important for certain approaches to be taken by health professionals to tackle the problems that are facing many ethic communities such as African American communities to ensure equality or at least equity is achieved.
It is important for professionals to appreciate the differences that exist among different populations so as to ensure overall health care of the American population.
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References
Baciu, A. (2017). The State of Health Disparities in the United States. National Academies of Sciences.
Fauci, C. A. (2001). Racism and Health Care in America: Legal Responses to Racial Disparities in the Allocation of Kidneys. Boston College Third World Kaw Journal.
NCHS, (. C. (2016). Health, United States: With Special feature on racial and ethnic disparities. National Center for Health Statistics.
Noonan, A. S. (2016). Improving the health of African Americans in the USA: an overdue opportunity for social justice. Public Health Reviews.
Wasserman, J. (2019). Advancing Health Services Research to Eliminate Health Care Disparities. American Journal of Public Health.
Yancy, C. W. (2020). COVID-19 and African Americans. Northwestern University.
