The Hispanic population of the Allapattah neighborhood in Miami, Florida, is one of the most vulnerable groups in the region. Even though this community has the higher living standards compared to other Hispanic populations in the country, it is still exposed to various social problems. The poor economic situation of this group creates a base for possible problems in the healthcare system. The purpose of this paper is to identify the medical issues essential to this community and find the solutions to them.
Vulnerable Population Overview
The Allapattah community is relatively poor. Although its population consists primarily of young and mid-aged adults, they do not seem to be able to afford the essential items for healthy living conditions. Most of the people rent housing, which appears to be kept in a moderate condition. While poor communities often have a significant number of people with alcohol or drug abuse traits, no such evidence was traced in the Allapattah neighborhood. On the contrary, the population seems to be very family oriented, with women spending outdoor time with their small children.
There are not much career opportunities in the area. The job market mainly offers work in the service sector. Walmart store is among the key employers in this area. The government is consistently making efforts on creating a stable environment in this region. The increased police presence, the struggle to renovate the housing sector, and the attempt to clear the streets are targeted at the community development and the potential career growth.
Strengths, Risk Factors, and Barriers
The discussed group lives in a region that is rich in fruits and vegetables. This eliminates the possible problem of the vitamins’ lacking. Moreover, Florida has an increased level of sunshine compared to the northern states, which acts positively on the amount of the vitamin D received by the local population. However, this can also be a threat, for overexposure to the ultraviolet may result in skin cancer, especially among the people with fair skin.
The research conducted by Barkin et al. (2016) provides evidence that the Hispanic communities have a higher risk of discovering melanoma on the late stage, as compared to other groups. Their article stresses the importance of teaching children about the sun protection. It has been found that Hispanic mothers born in the US tend to recognize this importance more than the ones who immigrated from other Latin countries.
However, the urban issues present the biggest problem to the Hispanic community’s health. Page et al. (2013) discuss the issue of asthma among the children of Miami. The authors claim that the poor housing conditions result in the growth of diseases and infections of children. The situation mentioned above, where Hispanic group lives mainly in the property built around the 1970’s, is subject to this problem. Old houses do not have a proper ventilation system, so the air at home cannot be cleaned normally. Besides, the dense community creates more pollution, which is common to most cities.
Community Resources
There are various health care institutions in the Allapattah area, which help its community. They include such centers as the Jackson Memorial Hospital, the Holtz Children’s Hospital, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and others. The clinics offer all sorts of medical treatment and rehabilitation procedures. For instance, the Jackson Memorial Hospital has a very advanced scientific and resource base. It is the third largest public hospital in the United States, offering even such rare procedures as the bloodless surgery. The Holtz Children’s Hospital is a part of this center, and it also provides unique medical treatment such as fetal therapy. The analysis of these services proves that there is no medical specialization which the existing institutions do not cover. The community of Allapattah has access to all the necessary treatment.
Community Health Problem Diagnosis
While changing of the living conditions may be a challenging step where a lot of political effort and financing should be put, there is a problem which can be successfully addressed by nurses. It is a problem of illiteracy regarding the sun-safe behavior. Local nurses of the Allapattah area clinics, who deal with mothers of young children, may positively impact the Hispanic community by instructing them on the safe practices.
This possible solution lies within the scope of the Healthy People 2020 program. There is a program targeted at the health communication practices, and one of the objectives of this program is HC/HIT-13 “Increase social marketing in health promotion and disease prevention” (Healthy People 2020, 2016, para 13). This program may include nurses speaking in clinics and schools about the melanoma prevention, the importance of SPF creams, and the general rules of protection from ultraviolet. They can also impact the social marketing campaigns positively by providing an expert opinion on the topic.
Summary
Even though the Miami region has the warm sunny climate, it may become a problem to the local population. The vulnerable group of poor Hispanic communities is subjected to the higher rates of skin cancer cases due to the widespread health illiteracy. Even though the medical treatment is readily accessible in the region, people do not always use its benefits. The Healthy People 2020 program may positively impact this vulnerable community by using nurses as the driving force for spreading the healthy living practices.
References
Barkin, H. B., Saltz, S. B., Fox, J. D., Baquerizo Nole, K. L., Rouhani, G., Hu, S., & Kirsner, R. S. (2016). Comparison of sun safety knowledge and behavior of Hispanic and non-Hispanic mothers in Miami: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 74(2), 385-387.
Healthy People 2020. (2016). Objectives: Health communication and health information technology. Web.
Page, T. F., Beck-Sague, C. M., Pinzon-Iregui, M. C., Cuddihy, A., Tyler, T., Forno, E.,…Gasana, J. (2013). Asthma in underserved schoolchildren in Miami, Florida: Results of a school- and community-based needs assessment. Journal of Asthma, 50(5), 480-487.