Mental health in the black community.Community Health Final Assignment
Community Health Final Assignment
In order to better understand the health needs and practices of various cultures within communities, you will conduct research on a community health issue that commonly affects a particular culture or group, a neighborhood or community, or a particular culture’s response to health issues and treatment.
1. You will identify a culture, group, or neighborhood/community you would like to conduct health research on.
2. Select a health issue, need, and/or health behavior or practice pertaining to the culture, group, or neighborhood you chose. For example, there may be a particular health issue that predominantly affects the culture or community you choose (e.g. rock music culture and drugs, men and alcoholism, African Americans and heart disease, rates of child asthma in the Bronx and Harlem, meth addiction in rural America).
3. Once you have chosen the culture, group, or neighborhood and area of health needs and/or practices that you want to research you should think of at least two questions or myths that you want to address in the research.
4. Your summary should include the following information:
a. Discuss how you feel about the particular health issue after having a chance to look at it more closely.
b. Do you feel that community health organizations and agencies are addressing the issue effectively?
c. Did you find anything surprising?
d. Did you find anything within the culture, group, or neighborhood you researched that you would like to change, or try or adopt into your own lifestyle? Why/why not?
So the topic I chose is Mental health in the black community. I want to identify why a lot of african americans tend to suffer in silence. I want to identify if slavery and our ancestors has an impact on our mindsets to not want to seek medical attention. Or if the church standards and our faith has something to do with it. Why do african americans feel shameful to speak on their mental health situations.
Are the causes of mental health due to the communities that blacks live in (violence, lack of education on mental health etc.) Those are just some ideas. THANK YOU!
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Mental Health Analysis
Mental health in the black community
Background and Introduction
Currently, African Americans lead the country with troubling statistics such as unemployment, neglect and domestic violence, all which increase stress. It is therefore not surprising that the African American community is leading in the United States in mental health issues (Ellis 5).
Additionally, racism can be highlighted as the leading cause of mental illness in African Americans. This, however, is not the only cause that will be discussed in the paper. Racism has psychologically affected African Americans by allowing the society to deny their worth as people and also compelling them towards internalizing the racist conceptions of who they are (Ellis 5). Racist stressors can also lead towards an increase in physiological reactivity which, when maintained for a period, can lead to cardiovascular illnesses and disorders.
The paper will also highlight the manner that the African American community deals with mental illness, the current misconceptions regarding mental disease among the African American community and finally a summary to reflect on the entire paper and course as a whole.
Health issue
Mental illness is not a one-size-fits-all since people are at risk of psychiatric conditions and associated diseases. These people must receive early and proper interventions. Historically, communities of color have experienced a profound and significant issue continuously in accessing adequate mental health services (Big Think 3). The health issue here is mental illness, and when this condition is discussed in the African American community, it is essential to identify the experience of trauma and the manner that the injury continuously abounds in their experiences on a daily basis.
Americans typically experience a mental health condition during their lifetime, and African Americans are therefore included. According to Hollie, (6-7) the Health and Humans Services Office of Minority Health, African Americans a twenty percent more likely to experience severe mental health issues compared to the entire population.
There is also the issue of historical adversity which includes slavery, and race-based exclusions from health, economic and social amenities. This ultimately translates into the development of socioeconomic disparities which are experienced by African Americans every day. Socioeconomic status conversely, is associated with mental health whereby as people become impoverished, incarcerated, homeless or addiction problems, are highly prone towards adverse psychological health (Mental Health America 3-4). Despite being almost thirteen percent of the total United States population, African Americans make up a vast forty percent increase of people experiencing homelessness. Therefore the homeless population is more at risk to develop mental illness.
Despite significant progress being made over the years, racism has continually become impactful on the mental health of African Americans. Negative stereotypes and rejection attitudes have also significantly decreased (Ellis 5-6). However, this only came with numerous adverse outcomes. Contemporary and historical instances of unfavorable treatment of African Americans led to a massive mistrust of authorities (Mental Health America 10). Most individuals in the black community are highly likely to become victims of a crime compared to Caucasian Americans and therefore, this increases the risk of the African American to be diagnosed of post-traumatic-stress disorder.
Questions to address in the research and analysis
In the research, the two issues that will be discussed are:
* Did slavery have an impact on the mindsets of African Americans in not seeking medical attention?
* Why African Americans tend to suffer in silence and tend to feel embarrassed of speaking on their mental health problems due to their religion?
Analysis
Did slavery have an impact on the mindsets of African Americans in not seeking medical attention?
The experiences and values profound to specific communities such as African Americans will indicate the state of mental illness within them. It has been one hundred and fifty years silence slavery ended completely; however, the outcomes are still apparent in numerous parts of the country (Big Think 4-7). The scars of slavery additionally, have been passed down through culture and therefore may become a genetic manifestation as well.
This process is referred to as epigenetic inheritance whereby a study was conducted and highlighted that Holocaust survivors passed down their scarred genes to their descendants. These scars were caused by extremely stressful instances (Big Think 4-7). Therefore, the collective experience of an African American that was part slavery has been passed down person by person from one generation to the next generation. This not only points to internal factors that increase the already draining elements of mental illness but with the proper guidance by medical practitioners, this can assist significantly in handling mental conditions (Big Think 4-7).
Individuals suffer in silence with respect to having a mental illness. In the larger society, the stigma is highly significant and is connected to mental institutions. On a historical perspective, most African Americans have normalized their suffering (Clifton 5). During slavery, psychological illness typically led to a more inhumane lifestyle that included constant beatings and abuse which forced numerous saves to hide their problems. Over time, strength became equal ...