Hispanics are the largest minority groups in America. The ethnic group is composed of people immigrating from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain. Hispanics play a crucial role in the economy, cultural diversity, and health of U.S. Their daily life is shaped by their culture, structural and social position. Assessing their health status as well as their health needs and concerns is key to address their health care concerns. This paper will delve at assessing the health care concerns of the Hispanic community. More specifically, the paper will discuss how metabolic diseases affect the Hispanic community in spite of the efforts of services ad partnerships involved. The paper will also delve at describing the vital goals of Healthy People 2020 with regard to metabolic diseases. The paper will also address the strengths and weaknesses of Hispanics and the areas of improvement needed in the community.
The Hispanic Community
The Hispanic community is composed of people originating or migrating from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain, regardless of race. Hispanics account for nearly 56.5 million in the U.S (Flores, 2017). Hispanics represent 17.6% of the United States population. There are numerous factors that shape their health, and some of these factors include language barriers, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health care. According to the CDC, the main diseases or health conditions that affect the Hispanic community include heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 2019).
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Metabolic Diseases among Hispanics
According to a study done by Heiss, Snyder, Teng, Schnerderman, Llabre, Cowie, Carnethon, Kaplan, Giachello, Galla, Loehr, & Aviles-Santa (2014), 33 percent of the adult population in America has a metabolic disease, more specifically the metabolic syndrome. In the United States, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome is highest among Hispanic adults. In their study, Heiss et al. quantified the prevalence of metabolic syndrome of people between the age bracket of 18 and 74. The participants of the study were mainly people from diverse Hispanic background. From their study, Heiss et al. concluded that metabolic syndrome was more prevalent in women. Statistically, 36% of women had metabolic syndrome while that of men was 34%.
Based on age and sex, Heiss et al. found the that 23% of women between the age bracket of 18 and 44 had the syndrome; 50% of women between the age bracket of 45 and 64 had the syndrome, and 62% of women between age bracket of 65 and 74 had the syndrome. When it comes to men, that 25% of women between the age bracket of 18 and 44 had the syndrome; 43% of women between the age bracket of 45 and 64 had the syndrome, and 55% of women between age bracket of 65 and 74 had the syndrome. and 25%, 43%, and 55%. Fro the study, Heiss et al. found that 96% of the women with metabolic syndrome suffered from abdominal pain, but the number was lower in men, which was 73%. Overall, the study indicates that the burden of cardiometabolic abnormalities is high in Hispanic/Latino. However, its prevalence varies with age and sex, as well as by ethnic background.
Through the “ Healthy People 2020 ”, the U.S. HHS outlines goals to improve health status on the U.S. population. “Health People 2020” is a prevention agenda developed by the federal government of the U.S. and its purpose is to build a healthier nation. The overarching goals of this prevention agenda are to achieve health equity, attain high-quality health care, and improve the health of the American citizens. In relation to metabolic diseases, the main goal of this preventive agenda is to reduce the disease burden of metabolic syndrome as well as improve the quality of life.
The weakness of the Hispanic Community
The main factor that affect Hispanics is poverty. This coupled by their cultural values, low level of education, unemployment, and lack of social support systems, affects the Hispanic community. Other weaknesses include language/cultural barriers and lack of access to quality health care due to poverty. Hispanics have a particular cultural identity which makes them seen as a minority group in the U.S. Some Hispanics cannot speak English, and this affects their access to health care and other public services.
Majority of the Hispanics are unemployed, and the few who are employed are not employed in well-paying jobs. Therefore, the majority of Hispanics live below the poverty level. This makes it difficult for them to access quality health since most of the health care service in America are privately purchased. As a result, most of them are uninsured. Historically, Hispanics in the United States, when compared to other ethnic groups, are the ones who have the least access to health care services.
Strengths of the Hispanic Community
One of the strengths of the Hispanic community is strong family bonds. Hispanic parents are very supportive of their children. The third-generation Hispanic mothers provide their children with moral guidance and moral support. More specifically, they instill their children with a strong work ethic both at school and at home. Compared to other generations, the new-borns of Hispanic immigrant are very healthy. To add to this, the children born now show good development both socially and morally. Thus, the Hispanic community has the potential to develop and improve in many spheres of life.
Trends in Data –Metabolic Disease in the United States by Sex and Race/Ethnicity
The incidence of metabolic syndrome has been increasing since 2003. According to a study done by Aguilar (2015), the overall prevalence of the disease was 33% in America. Aguilar retrieved his data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES). More specifically, Aguilar evaluated the trends in metabolic syndrome among people who are 20 years old and above. From his study, Aguilar (2015) found that 35.5% of the women in America had the syndrome while percentage was 30.3% for men. When stratified by ethnicity, Hispanics are the ones who are mostly affected by the metabolic condition. Figure 1 indicates that from prevalence of the metabolic condition was 32.9% and 34.7% in 2003-2004 and 2-11-2012 respectively. This shows a rise in prevalence which is not a good indicator (Aguilar, 2015). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased with age (Figure 2).
Figure 1: Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome by sex and race/ethnicity. [Source: (Aguilar, 2015)].
Figure 2: Age-specific prevalence of the metabolic syndrome by sex and race/ethnicity, 2003-2012. [Source (Aguilar, 2015).
From the table, the incidences of the metabolic condition were 18.3% among people aged between 20 years and 29 years and 46.7% among people aged 60 years and above.
Areas of Improvement
To enhance Hispanics’ health, the health care industry ought to put strategies in place to ensure that they provide services to the Hispanic community. This would not only help provide health care services to the ethnic minority group but also flourish their businesses. Health care organizations ought to surpass delivering culturally –and linguistically –appropriate access. The health care organization should implement a comprehensive strategy that incorporates a plan for better patient relations as well as makes use of Hispanics in their health care industries.
Another area that needs improvement is the insurance coverage. The United States should extend market-based options to reduce un-insurance. The U.S. should also implement community initiatives to boost enrolment of Hispanic children in Federal health programs. For instance, the government should develop culturally proficient, community-based programs that enhance youth employment in programs that are federally sponsored. This will help the government eliminate the barriers the prevent Hispanics from enrolling for coverage.
Conclusion
Although regarded as a minority group, Hispanics have a significant contribution to the economy, cultural diversity, and health of America. This paper assessed their health status, as well as their health concerns. It is evident that Hispanics face a lot of challenges when it comes to accessing health care services. Numerous studies indicate that most of the people from the ethnic group lack access to preventive care, as most of them are un-insured. This is due to the fact that they are the ones that lead to the prevalence of metabolic diseases when compared to other ethnic groups. In order to address and improve their health, the government should address the health care needs of Hispanics.
References
Aguilar, M. (2015). Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the United States, 2003-2012. American Medical Association, Vol. 313 (19); 1973-1974.
Flores, A. (2017). Facts on U.S. Latinos, 2015: Statistical portrait of Hispanics in the United States. [Online]. Retrieved from: https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2017/09/18/facts-on-u-s-latinos/ . Accessed 18 th August 2019.
Heiss, G., Snyder, M., Teng, Y., Schneiderman, N., Llabre, M., Cowie, C., Carnethon, M., Kaplan, R., Giachello, A., Gallo, L., Loehr, L., & Aviles-Santa, L. (2014). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Hispanics/Latinos of diverse background: The Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos. Diabetes Care, Vol. 27; 2391-2399. DOI: 10.2337/dc13-2505.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2019). Profile: Hispanics/Latino Americans. [Online]. Retrieved from: https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=64 . Accessed 18 th August 2019.
