Minority Health Promotion

Describe the ethnic minority group selected. Describe the current health status of this
group. How do race and ethnicity influence health for this group?
What are the health disparities that exist for this group? What are the nutritional
challenges for this group?
Discuss the barriers to health for this group resulting from culture, socioeconomics,
education, and sociopolitical factors.
What health promotion activities are often practiced by this group?
Describe at least one approach using the three levels of health promotion prevention
(primary, secondary, and tertiary) that is likely to be the most effective in a care plan given
the unique needs of the minority group you have selected. Provide an explanation of why it
might be the most effective choice.
What cultural beliefs or practices must be considered when creating a care plan? What
cultural theory or model would be best to support culturally competent health promotion
for this population? Why?
Cite at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources
should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and
public health content.

Minority Health Promotion
Black/ African American Health Concerns.

As per the world population review (World Population Review, 2020) , the United States
population stands at 330,340,296, with approximately 13.4% of it being black or African
American alone. At the moment, African American mortality rates have substantially declined.
More recently, the CDC (CDC, 2020) , placed the decline to 25%, this applying to those of the
ages of 65 and above. This is in sharp contrast with the fact that despite these new developments,
the younger generation of African Americans are substantially living with and are affected by
diseases that were in the past linked and associated with older white Americans. The primary

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health difference is visible among the youthful African American and their causes of death. This
can be tied to the fact that when diseases start early, they tend to cause early mortality. Worse off
is the fact that chronic ailments and their effects, as well as the risk that they carry, may not be
noticed or diagnosed during most of their youth. These healthcare issues can be attributed to
socioeconomic situations that are prevalent among the community as opposed to any other race
or community.
African Americans suffer predominantly from heart disease and tuberculosis as compared
to other races. According to the CDC, in 2018 alone, a total of 1799 blacks/ African Americans
reportedly suffered from the disease, accounting for 20% of the national T.B. cases. This was
eight times higher than that of their white/ Caucasian counterparts in the U.S. African Americans
adults are also 50% more likely to die prematurely from heart diseases and strokes. Diets hugely
affect this group. Over the years, these groups primary diets consisted of fatty meat, red meat,
sugary drinks, and processed foods. Fast foods and added salt are also a problem since they raise
the blood pressure, thus puts an increased risk and stress on the heart. It also damages the blood
vessels by stretching them at high-pressure levels.

Barriers to good health among the African American Community.
There are various socioeconomic barriers to proper health that are experienced by African
Americans. Poverty is a significant contributor to poor health within the community as most
people cannot afford the right kinds of diets that comprise of healthy foods. This makes them opt
for cheap and readily available food, which in most times comes in the form of fast foods and
sugary beverages. Unemployment, inadequate housing facilities, as well as the lack of proper
transportation services can also be directly linked to the rise in tuberculosis infections. These can
act as barriers to the disease’s treatment and recovery as well.

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In the past, black/ African American culture was not keen on promoting the knowledge of
diseases such as T.B. and heart disease. These health knowledge barriers resulted in the stigma of
those affected by conditions such as T.B. Various cultural beliefs and values have had a higher
hand towards the spread of the disease with the stigma associated with it hindering the affected
from seeking medical attention (CDC, 2020) . The health promotion activities mostly promoted
by this community range from exercising, sports, and, more recently, healthy eating. The latter is
beginning to take effect within the community as more and more healthy eating educational
programs are being rolled out.

The most effective promotion prevention approach to be used in a care plan
The health promotion prevention level likely to be effective among African American’s
health issues, given the uniqueness of their health problems would have to be the primary level.
This mostly covers prevention measures that the community should take to avoid these
healthcare issues. This is the most effective choice as it involves prevention measures that can be
utilized by the community to reduce the contraction as well as the effects of these diseases.
These can be in the form of;
 Immunization
 Practicing proper nutritional habits
 Involving themselves in exercise plans.
These steps can go a great length in making sure that the rates of development of these
illnesses, as well as their effects among the community, drop substantially within the shortest
periods.

Cultural beliefs and practices

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The multicultural and multilingual demographic of today presents a challenge because of
the need to capture how best to capture the needs of a diverse patient population. Healthcare is
no longer one size fits all, and cultural needs, beliefs, as well as preferences, need to be
considered. Cultural beliefs and practices that can be regarded as in this case when creating a
care plan range from;

 The different convictions in health as some cultures believe talking about ill-
health might result in the same.
 Healthcare customs, as some cultures, believe that members of the family should
decide the kind of actions taken.
 Some ethnic beliefs also clearly distinguish the different roles when it comes to
gender, and these decide who approves of particular medical treatments as well as
procedures.
 Religion is also crucial as some religions largely determine if the patient will seek
medical attention or not.
 Cooking processes and foods that a patient is accustomed to may cause
difficulties, especially when administering proper diets.
The cultural theory or model

For this population, that would be the cultural competence model. This will make sure that
among the black/ African American community, several elements are considered. These are
awareness, knowledge, skill as well as encounter of the culture. All these elements combined
will present the best way forward in dealing with the health crisis within the community.

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References

CDC. (2020, February 28). African American Health. Retrieved from CDC: