Ethnic Minority Group Description
Hispanic, or Latino, Americans are defined as the descendants of Spanish people, which includes Mexicans. In the U.S., Hispanic/Latino Americans constitute approximately 18.5% of the population, according to the results of the latest census (The United States Census Bureau, 2019). The specified population is characterized by medium to low-income rates. In addition, while the vast majority (88%) of Hispanic American citizens finish high school, only 32% have an academic degree, which signifies that the rates of higher education are quite low among Hispanic Americans.
Likewise, employment issues vary across the Hispanic American population, with some citizens being unemployed. Currently, the total employment rates among Hispanic Americas constitute 7,912,405 (The United States Census Bureau, 2019). Finally, it is noteworthy that 10.5% of the Hispanic American population lives below the threshold of poverty (The United States Census Bureau, 2019). Therefore, the process of addressing public health issues faced by Hispanic Americans becomes rather complicated.
Health Disparities
Presently, obesity is deemed the primary health concern for Hispanic Americans. According to the official statistical data, approximately 57% of Hispanic Americans suffer from being overweight or obese. Though obesity might seem not as threatening as other common public health threats, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, or diabetes, it also produces a profound long-term negative effect on patients (Popkin & Reardon, 2018). Specifically, obesity leads to high blood pressure and CVD and may cause diabetes and stroke.
Examining the causes of the health problem under analysis one must point to unhealthy eating habits that most Hispanic Americans have. Due to the abundance of food that is rich in saturated fats and carbohydrates, Hispanic Americans are particularly prone to developing weight issues (Johnson et al., 2018). Therefore, reconsidering the dieting choices and gaining the required health literacy should be regarded as the top priority for the specified demographic presently.
Moreover, it is worth noting that the absence of healthy eating options due to low income may be one of the main contributors to the problem of obesity (Johnson et al., 2018). Therefore, when shaping approaches toward weight management in the target demographic, one must consider applying a patient-focused approach that allows for an individual treatment strategy. Thus, a patient-specific diet that will remain available to the target demographic financially will be designed.
Being an ethnic minority, Hispanic Americans require particular care and support from healthcare experts in the U.S. According to the existing data, obesity represents a major concern for Hispanic Americans (Chirinos et al., 2020). The described issue occurs as a result of poor dieting choices caused by misinformed perceptions of proper eating and the lack of availability of reliable health management sources for the target demographic.
Barriers to Health
The lack of health literacy remains one of the foundational obstacles to promoting health management among members of the target population. Due to the unavailability of essential sources of health education for the specified demographic, the process of increasing their health literacy and building awareness about the key symptoms, prevention methods, and treatment options becomes highly complicated.
The poverty phenomenon is another source of health issues in the target population. Namely, the demographic under analysis may be aware of the effects that the failure to address a health concern may entail, yet the absence of health insurance and the extraordinarily high prices for healthcare support will stop them from gaining the assistance of healthcare experts and providers.
addition, language remains one of the foundational barriers that prevent healthcare providers, including nurse educators, from introducing Hispanic American patients to the key concepts of health management that they require to address the obesity issue. Indeed, recent studies indicate that poor command of the language in which key health information is provided, including patient-nurse communication and the available resources, plays a huge role in the development of additional obstacles to receiving the required treatment. For instance, the paper by Salinas et al. (2020, p. 7) explains that “in ethnically homogeneous communities –New York for example—language use and immigration status serve as barriers to health information or are a characteristic of longstanding neighborhood segregation.”
Therefore, creating programs that offer instructions, consultations, and patient education in the language that is native to the target population, namely, Spanish and Portuguese, must become the key trend in developing new programs.
Finally, the presence of traditions that conflict with foundational principles of health management is worth addressing. For example, it is a common belief among Latin Americans that being overweight is one of the characteristics that add loveliness to a child (Ash et al., 2017). As a result, Latin American children are exposed to a range of food choices that make them develop excessive weight, causing them to suffer from being overweight or even obese from infancy into adulthood (Marshall et al., 2019).
As a result, the levels of childhood obesity are particularly high among the Latin American population (Marshall et al., 2019). For this reason, programs aimed at encouraging a shift in the dieting in Latin Americans should also focus on fighting the stereotypes associated with weight in children, thus encouraging healthy weight and eating since childhood.
Health Promotion Activities
However, it would be unfair to claim that the target group does not practice any health-related procedures. For instance, the concepts of peace and family support can be considered the cornerstone principles of Hispanic culture, which provide a sufficient basis for increasing the extent of the population’s health. Namely, the focus on the family bond contributes to managing key stress factors, which, in turn, reduces the probability of developing mental health issues. As a result, the levels of depression and anxiety, as well as other mental health problems associated with the presence of stress-related factors, are quite low among the members of the Hispanic population in the U.S. (Popkin & Reardon, 2018).
Approach to Health Promotion
Creating a program that would introduce Latin Americans to the concept of healthy dieting and the ability to make appropriate choices in their eating habits must be regarded as the task of priority. In addition, to address the problem of childhood obesity among Latin Americans, active parent education must be promoted, targeting harmful cultural traditions and stereotypical perception of the images of children and women in Latin American culture. Thus, the significance of obesity and its effects on health, including the development of CVD, type II diabetes, LDL cholesterol increase, hypertension, the threat of a stroke, and the related problems, must be emphasized explicitly.
To implement the described change, one will need a program aimed at enhancing communication with patients and the provision of health education materials, preferably in their native language. Moreover, counseling sessions for those in need of additional assistance will be required. The inclusion of remote patient-nurse communication will also be essential to reduce the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, applications for developing a personalized dieting plan must be designed so that the target audience could create unique, customized dieting options for weight management. As a result, Hispanic Americans will be able to change their current eating patterns and habits to include healthier options, as well as abandon the traditions that encourage excessive eating.
References
Ash, T., Agaronov, A., Aftosmes-Tobio, A., & Davison, K. K. (2017). Family-based childhood obesity prevention interventions: a systematic review and quantitative content analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 14(1), 113.
Chirinos, D. A., Llabre, M. M., Goldberg, R., Gellman, M., Mendez, A., Cai, J.,… Schneiderman, N. (2020). Defining abdominal obesity as a risk factor for coronary heart disease in the US: Results from the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL). Diabetes Care, 43(8), 1774-1780. Web.
Johnson, K. A., Showell, N. N., Flessa, S., Janssen, M., Reid, N., Cheskin, L. J., & Thornton, R. L. (2019). Do neighborhoods matter? A systematic review of modifiable risk factors for obesity among low socio-economic status Black and Hispanic children. Childhood Obesity, 15(2), 71-86. Web.
Marshall, E., Moon, M. A., Mirchandani, A., Smith, D. G., Nichols, L. P., Zhao, X.,… Chang, T. (2019). “Baby wants tacos”: Analysis of health-related Facebook posts from young pregnant women. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 23(10), 1400-1413. Web.
The United States Census Bureau. (2019). QuickFacts. Hispanic or Latino, percent. Web.
Popkin, B. M., & Reardon, T. (2018). Obesity and the food system transformation in Latin America. Obesity Reviews, 19(8), 1028-1064. Web.
Salinas, J. J., Sheen, J., Carlyle, M., Shokar, N. K., Vazquez, G., Murphy, D., & Alozie, O. (2020). Using electronic medical record data to better understand obesity in Hispanic neighborhoods in El Paso, Texas. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4591-4601. Web.