health needs of African-Americans and Hispanics Question description

Prepare An Adequate response to the following prompt

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Choose 2 different vulnerable and underserved populations. Describe their health needs, and summarize the major challenges they face. Next, what are the racial/ethnic minority categories in the United States? Compared with Caucasian Americans, what are the health challenges minorities face?

health needs of African-Americans and Hispanics Respond to classmate #1

We must help all regardless of their background. The bible states “And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all” (Luke 6: 17-26 English Standard Version). There are many different vulnerable and underserved populations in the United States. According to Shi & Singh (2017), “The causes of their vulnerability are largely attributable to unequal social, economic, health, and geographic conditions. These population groups encompass include racial and ethnic minorities, uninsured women and children, persons living in rurals areas, the homeless, the mentally ill, the chronically ill and disabled, and individuals with HIV/AIDS. The two vulnerable groups I will focus on will be racial minorities and the uninsured.

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Racial minorities and the uninsured should be bettered cared for in our healthcare system. They are on the fringe of the quality of life, and truly vulnerable to bad health. To put things in perspective the uninsured rate ranged between 14.5 percent and 15.5 percent of the U.S. population from 2008 to 2013 (Vitaleri, 2016, p. 18). Palley (2016) states the estimated uninsured to be 40 to 50 million people in the United States (p. 148). And according to Ayanian (2015), “Al- though the United States has made progress in narrowing the gap in life expectancy between blacks and whites, from 7.6 years in 1970 to 3.8 years in 2010, a disparity remains — largely from blacks’ higher death rates at younger ages from heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as higher risks for HIV infection, homicide, and infant mortality” (p. 1).

Their health needs and challenges vary. Likely to be less educated and poorer, According to Shi & Singh (2017) The uninsured face greater barriers to accessing needed health care and are more likely to report delays in seeking needed medical care or dental care (p. 278). Racial minorities as mention earlier experience higher rates of illness and mortality than white Americans.

Racial minorities are categorized into groups. In their journal Fiscella & Sanders (2016) state that the racial minorities are: Asian Americans, Black or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives (p. 376). Compared to Caucasian Americans racial minorities face many health challenges, some I have mentioned earlier. In the textbook Shi & Singh (2017) list the challenges that racial minorities face,

1. Black Americans
   1. Shorter life expectancies
   2. Higher deaths from stroke and coronary heart disease than whites
   3. More likely than whites to report fair or poor health status
2. Hispanic Americans
   1. More likely to be uninsured or underinsured
   2. One-fourth of families live below poverty line
   3. AIDS is leading cause of death
   4. Higher proportion of Hispanics are overweight or obese
3. Asian Americans
   1. Higher rate of cancer than whites in stomach and liver cancer
   2. Cambodian refugees have high rate PTSD and depression
4. American Indians and Alaska Natives
   1. Poverty is associated with high injury-related mortality rate among these children.
   2. The rate of death due to alcohol is 7 times greater and the suicide rate is 3.5. times greater than the national averages.
   3. Higher rates for drug-induced deaths than among non-Hispanic whites.
   4. Higher homicide rates compared to non-Hispanic whites. (p. 271)

Healthcare disparities exist in racial minorities and the uninsured. They received much less in quality healthcare than compared to Caucasian Americans. Mainly due to economic reasons they receive lackluster care. Cost of healthcare has risen. And many of racial minorities and uninsured populations can ill afford health insurance. Reforms and cheaper insurance must come about for them to receive the care they need. The Affordable Care Act aided in increasing access for healthcare for these populations. According to Salmond & Echevarria (2017) the affordable care act is “more than insurance reform” and allows for greater access and improved quality to more affordable healthcare.

In conclusion the path to better care for the vulnerable and underserved is for reforms in our healthcare policy to allow for lower costs in healthcare premiums and lower health services costs, so that the underserved may be served properly. Dignity and care must be given to all. As it says in the bible, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 English Standard Version).