Creating a Health Promotion Program. Health Promotion Program among Hispanics in the United States

Health Promotion Program among Hispanics in the United States
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Health Promotion Program
The Hispanic population continues to face inequalities in the American healthcare system. Hispanics comprise 17.4% of the US population forming the largest ethnic minority (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Despite some substantial progress, health disparities continue to be a significant issue in Hispanic communities across the US. This has led to higher prevalence rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart diseases, or cancer. Also, it has limited access to preventive screening services such as blood pressure. This situation has led to poorer health outcomes among Hispanics compared to Whites. This paper examines factors that have led to health disparities amongst the Hispanic population and then describes a health promotion program to remedy the situation.
Factors that Contribute to Health Disparities
Social determinants
Some of the social issues that lead to health disparities in the Hispanic community, particularly in New York include poverty, housing, education, access to healthy food, employment, and violence. Hispanics record lower high-school and college graduates than Whites. This also leads to inequality in the job market with higher unemployment rates in Hispanic communities. As a result, Hispanics and Latinos record the highest levels of poverty in the US (Ludwig-Dehm & Iceland, 2017). Poor health outcomes and mortality are co-related with poverty (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). Therefore, this makes them more susceptible to health conditions such as diabetes, heart ailments, and obesity. Besides, infant mortality remains higher in these communities. The poor quality of housing amongst these communities also leads to a higher prevalence of certain diseases. For example, Hispanics have an uneven incidence of asthma due to the lower quality of housing. Further, their present segregated conditions expose them to higher rates of cardiovascular diseases. Across the country, Hispanic neighborhoods have lower access to healthy food than other racial groups. Surveys show that food in Hispanic areas is of lower quality than in white regions. The majority of the food desserts are found in Hispanic communities, an indicator of higher food insecurity rates. This malnutrition results in pregnancy complications and low-birth-weight. Further, the disproportionately higher rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) amongst the Hispanic/Latina communities and other minorities negatively impact their health (Stockman, Hayashi & Campbell, 2015). These rates lead to higher cases of deaths, injuries, and disabilities.
Racial determinants
Racism causes Hispanics to experience discrimination and prejudice in the healthcare system. Regardless of the level of education, age, or sex, racism continues to marginalize the community. Racism has led to inadequate access to healthcare services, reduced health outcomes, and lower health insurance coverage. The burden of racism has impacted the mental health of Hispanics. Healthcare systems continue to show racial bias. Hispanics complain of receiving lower patient care in their communities (Cabassa et al., 2014). Besides, there have been notable incidences of white people receiving better medical treatments than Hispanics with the same health issues. The discrimination has extended to health algorithms used to inform health decisions. The residential segregation system still prevalent amongst Hispanic communities also has limited access to healthcare. These areas usually have inadequate healthcare providers. Instead, Hispanics living in these areas tend to rely more on community health centers. Transportation to better health facilities becomes a significant problem due to lower incomes in these segregated communities. This psychological burden of racism has negatively affected Hispanic communities (Sohn, 2017). This has caused many of them to suffer premature deaths or chronic illnesses compared to whites.
Environmental determinants
Many Hispanic communities are located near areas affected by environmental stressors such as water and air pollutants (Padula et al., 2018). These impoverished Hispanic communities face more health-damaging factors such as preterm births leading to significant disparities in health. Many neighborhoods are located near sewage treatment plants, industrial facilities, and hazardous waste sites. This exposure to environmental hazards leads to health disparities. Further, the disproportionate location of many Hispanic communities near contaminated sites exposes them to more health problems than any other racial group in the United States. This situation leads to more incidences of cardiovascular diseases and respiratory ailments within this community (Morello-Frosch et al., 2011). Besides, inadequate health promotion facilities such as air quality and monitoring sites increase the disparity.
Systems in Place to Remedy the Situation
Steps have been taken to reduce the disparity prevalent within the Hispanic community. One significant step was President Obama's 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This law focused on increasing health insurance coverage. It aimed to expand access to health insurance among minority groups such as the Hispanic minority. The goal was to make health more affordable and improve the quality of care. This policy change had a positive effect on the Hispanic community. It boosted health access, with more Hispanics benefiting from increased access to preventative health services and insurance coverage (Buchmueller, Levinson, Levy & Wolfe, 2016). ACA has also changed the delivery of healthcare in the United States. The laws seek to emphasize the funding of hospitals on the value of care over the volume of patients. This allows Hispanics to benefit from the expansion of healthcare within the community centers. However, the Medicaid expansion under the ACA continues to face challenges. Over 15 states, including those with significant Hispanic populations such as Texas and Mississippi, continue to resist Medicaid expansion (Powell, Saloner & Sabik, 2015). This limits the access of many in the Hispanic population to quality care and preventative services.
Health promotion program
Addressing the health disparities in the Hispanic community requires a health promotion program that contains specific policy steps. The following health promotion program is based on four pillars that are increasin...