BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICANS

BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICANS

 Group 2 Andria Tito

Frangely Rivera

Dileimy Sanchez

Angelis Rivero

Albert Roig

Overview

The presentation covers:

➢ Racial/ethnic identity

➢ History, value orientation

➢ Language-communication,

➢ Health beliefs and practices,

➢ Religious and spirituality,

➢ Nutritional behavioral-diet

➢ Health beliefs and strategies

➢ Lifecycle events

➢ Cultural health promotion,

➢ Health promotion strategies.

Racial/Ethnic Identity, History and Value

Orientation

➢ Hypodescent rule is accepted in classifying people

➢ African Americans are from black and white origin hence their color and name

➢ Some people adopt a mono-racial, biracial, situational changing, or transcendent racial identity which has led to challenge in identity.

➢ Race and ethnicity contributes to their overall health.

➢ History of slavery plays are role in strength and decisiveness which is good for physical and emotional growth.

➢ Music dance and other recreational activities are important for physical exercise and relieving stress

➢ Blacks have values such as strength,, unity and determination inherited from

their slave ancestors.

Language and Health Beliefs

❖ Language

➢ African American English their vernacular which is signified by use of double negative. E.g. I am not doing nothing)

➢ The language is from the slaves who used both their common language as well as American English.

➢ The language is sometimes lost in the 2nd and 3rd generation.

❖ Health beliefs

➢ Diseases are as a result of natural(eating unfit foods) and natural causes (eg witchcraft and bad omen)

➢ Home remedies are used to cure some diseases,

➢ The situation is changing and some are adopting the modern methods of treatment

➢ A lot needs to be done to change health beliefs. Eg education and training

Religious beliefs and spirituality

➢ Most are Christians with protestants being about 53% of the population.

➢ About 5 % are Catholics, 14% are evangelistic Protestants, 4% are mainline Protestants, and 2% belong to the Islamic. Other religions are rare and unaccounted.

➢ AAs belief in the need to keep the body holy through good habits.

➢ Religion involves worship in churches and mosques and spirituality involves connection and relationship with their supernatural being and themselves.

➢ Helps them understand reality, destiny and make peace which is good for healthy living.

➢ Also helps in definition of morals and values.

➢ Some beliefs prohibit consumption of some animals which are considered healthy. E.g. pigs by Muslims

Nutritional Behavioral- Diet/life cycle events

❖ Nutritional Behavioral-Diet

➢ Influenced by their socioeconomic factors.

➢ Low access to fresh foods and balanced diet due to their location and low income.

➢ Their history of slavery also plays a role.

➢ High level of alcohol consumption and other drugs contributes to high cases of health complications.

❖ Lifecycle events

➢ Birth and adolescent-adult transition are celebrated and education done to boys and girls to nature their morals.

➢ Marriage is celebrated in traditional ways and religious ways where a clergy is involved.

➢ Death is celebrated by family and friend and members of clergy are also involved the process.

Medical Care Access

❖ Reduced medical access due to traditions, racism, lack of insurance and

ignorance.

❖ Affordable Care Act has improved the number of Blacks having access to

insurance and quality primary care since 2010.

❖ In areas such as Texas and Mississippi African Americans have shown

disinterest in extending their Medicaid or acquiring insurance. The affected

age is about 18-65 years.

❖ Awareness of the importance of medical attention and needs to be done by

building more training centers and health care facilities in rural areas in order to reach as many African Americans as possible.

Cultural Care Health Promotion

❖ Health risk: cardiovascular diseases (CVD)

❖ More African Americans are likely to suffer from (CVD) than whites.

❖ CVD is the major cause of high mortality in AAs. Majorly associated with diseases such as diabetes, obesity, ischemic strokes, sickle cell, hypertension and other genetic diseases.

❖ Reasons:

➢ poor diets- access to fresh foods and balanced diets

➢ lack of primary care- regular screening and prevention measures

➢ drug and alcohol consumption

Health Promotion Strategies/methods

a) Primary preventive measures- preventing AAs from suffering from (CVD).

 Can be achieved by frequently visiting primary health care clinicians, undergoing the necessary screening, and canceling

 Lifestyle measures include eating a healthy/fresh and balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, stopping smoking and alcohol consumption, and controlling blood pressure, diabetes, and any predisposing diseases.

b)Secondary measures involves screening for risk groups, early diagnosis and intervention.

 Also involves therapy for CVD associated diseases such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension etc.

c)Other strategies: advocacy for policy reforms, education on health and creation of awareness.

Conclusion

 African Americans' culture is influenced by their determination to stay

together in unity to defeat oppression as their ancestors did. Their culture,

socioeconomic status and lifestyle affects their overall health conditions in

different ways. Through research and policy implementation many African Americans have access to insurance through Affordable Care Act. As a result

they are able to have quality and affordable primary care, however a lot of

effort needs to be done to ensure that hindrances to quality healthcare such

as racism, lack of insurance and negligence are completely eradicated

through policy reforms.

References

 Hampton-Anderson, J. N., Carter, S., Fani, N., Gillespie, C. F., Henry, T.

L., Holmes, E., … & Kaslow, N. J. (2021). Adverse childhood experiences in

African Americans: Framework, practice, and policy. American

Psychologist, 76(2), 314.

 Hill, C. E., & Mathews, H. (2021). Traditional health beliefs and practices

among southern rural Blacks: A complement to biomedicine. In Perspectives on the American South (pp. 307- 322). Routledge.

 Yu, E., Malik, V. S., & Hu, F. B. (2018). Cardiovascular disease prevention by diet modification: JACC health promotion series. Journal of the

American College of Cardiology, 72(8), 914-926.