Health Promotion in American Indian
Select an ethnic minority group that is represented in the United States (American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian American, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander). Using health information available from Healthy People, the CDC, and other relevant government websites, analyze the health status for this group.
In a paper of 1,000-1,250 words, compare and contrast the health status of your selected minority group to the national average. Include the following:
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.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required
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AMERICAN INDIAN
American Indian refers to the aboriginal people living within the Western Hemisphere. These minority group's ancestors were part of those people whose culture involves nomadic hunting and gathering. About 30,000 – 12,000 years ago, these people traveled in small families from Asia towards North America. During the last Ice Age, a land bridge was known to connect the gap between two continents due to the low sea level. Before any European contact, their ancestors had been living for thousands of years in North America. When talking about indigenous cultures, they are often organized geographically. The Western Hemisphere involves the Northern America region, comprising the United States of America and Canada, the Middle America region comprising Mexico and Central America, and the South America region. They comprised 1.7 percent of the whole population in the U.S. Other names used for this minority group include Native Americans, aboriginal Americans, indigenous Americans, and Amerind.
CURRENT HEALTH STATUS, HEALTH DISPARITIES, AND NUTRITIONAL CHALLENGES
Specific health concerns are arising from each ethnic or racial group. Various factors contribute to these health differences, including genetics, culture, environmental factors, and access to care. As reported from the Census Bureau projections, 77.5 years is the life expectancies at birth in 2015 for American Indians, and wherein there are 74.7 years for men and 80.3 years for women. The life expectancies are projected to fall to 79.8 years for any Non-Hispanic whites, with 77.5 years for men while 82 years for women (, 2020). As reported by the Department of Health of North Dakota, the average age for American Indians at death recorded in 2010-2014 was 56.8 years compared to the white population's age at death of 76.6 years (Plain, 2018).
Among American Indians, the leading causes of death and diseases include stroke, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and accidents. Several conditions are also considered highly prevalent and risk factors to this group, including obesity, diabetes, substance use, mental health, teenage pregnancy, and liver diseases such as hepatitis. In addition to this, this group's tuberculosis rate in 2017 compared to the white population was approximately four times higher, with a 3.9 incidence rate (, 2020).
Additionally, American Indians suffer significant nutritional challenges in the United States. Approximately 67% of this minority group falls within the category of either overweight or obese. In their culture, food is considered to be a way of life that goes beyond just sustenance. Due to lack of resources, isolated location geographically, and poor aid system from the government, food insecurity and malnutrition are experienced more by this group. Poor diet results from limited resources in which children are rewarded with sweet foods such as ice cream, sweets from bakery, and candies (Kaiser, 2019).
Several factors prevent this particular group from accessing quality medical care. Such concerns include inadequate sewage disposal, an isolated group in a geographical manner, cultural barriers, and low income. Their race and ethnicity have significantly influenced their health status because of the difference in culture, poverty, discrimination when health services are delivered, and limited education (minorityhealth.hhs.gov, n.d.).
BARRIERS TO HEALTH
The barriers to the health of this group result from factors including educational, cultural, sociopolitical, and socioeconomic factors. As mentioned above, American Indians' health disparities stem from economic and social disadvantages that can be associated with exclusion or discrimination, which may be due to their race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and location.
Factors such as low income, low educational attainment, unemployment, and language fluency contribute to this group's health disparities. It has been recorded that about 26.9% of American Indians use another language at home other than English. This could contribute to language barriers when accessing health care services. As for their educational attainment, only 83.9% of this group graduated from high school than non-Hispanic whites, which is 92.9%. About 19.6% only of those aging 2...