In the American context, a social group that an individual belongs to has a far-reaching effect on the quality of health care that he or she can access. Irrefutably, the affluent tend to attain medical service from renowned and high-end health care organizations that dissipate high-quality treatment. Conversely, middle class and lower class individuals are limited to medical institutions that provide affordable care. In this accord, marginalized or minority communities such as African-American and immigrant tend to receive substandard care. In a bid to understand the depth of health care disparities in the United States, it is imperative that social clusters are debunked.
Social stratification or categorization is a chief cause of health disparities in the United States. Principally, cultures tend to have their customized lenses for categorizing their members. Alongside the developed model of categorization, cultures have devised elaborate mechanisms to facilitate the transitioning of their members from one social category to the next. Such a model may include rites of passage. To elucidate the existence of internal classification mechanism, it is worth considering that about 4 out of 10 African Americans do not consider Black to be a single race. The cluster systems have also been explicitly defined by law. As a means of unraveling the health disparities among African Americans, it is cardinal that I define my social status.
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In reference to nationality, I am an American. The concept of nationality is defined as owning allegiance to a particular nation regardless of religion, ethnicity, or culture. Based on the ethnic classification, I am an African-American or blatantly Black. Ethnicity is defined is a perception of an individual’s sense of affiliation or belonging to a specific ethnic group. Typically, my ethnicity hugely constitutes my identity. Although I do not always associate with people from my ethnic group, my ethnicity defines who I am and principles that have been engrained in me.
In regards to race, empirical findings explicitly posit that there is no genetic basis for race since about 99.9% of the human population share similar genetic compositions. Geneticists affirm that the 0.1% variation accounts for human differences. Research conducted by historical studiers affirms that race was a label introduced by colonizer as a means of creating social stratifications that distinguish them from their subjects. Although I perceive myself as an African-American, I am particularly resentful of people from other races trying to ascribe a sense of identity to me base on stereotypic and prejudicial perceptions. In the context of religion, which has been defined by scholars as a system of belief concerning order, I am a staunch Christian. Also, my gender is male and I consider myself to be well educated. I am a heterosexual. In addition, I am among the vulnerable population because vulnerability is hugely determined by socioeconomic factors. I am also single and I live with my extended family in an urban locale.
According to an article authored by Castaneda (2018), a contributor to the U.S. News, being black American is bad for one’s culture. The statement is not based on race, ethnicity, or an individual’s identity, but on the beliefs, lifestyle, and practices that are synonymous with the African American culture. Given that the number of poor and working-class African Americans is towering, such a subset of the populace is susceptible to risk of troubling outcomes of ill-health. To be precise, it is irrefutable that people that reside in distressed neighborhoods are likely to be more concern about surviving day by day rather than on their health wellness. For instance, the stress of racial discrimination and police profiling, a problem that is facing a majority of African American, increases the susceptibility of African Americans to chronic stress. Subsequently, the chronic stress elevates the risk of African Americans to developing debilitating health conditions such as anxiety, depression, digestive issues, weight gain, severe headache, cardiovascular conditions, and concentration and memory impairments.
Castaneda (2018) affirms that the situation facing African Americans is a vicious cycle because a black person, who is a low-income earner and resides in the city faces the challenge of trying to make ends meet while focusing of his or her health wellbeing. It is typically, unpractical for such an individual to focus on improving his or her health when the subject is preoccupied with finding money to pay rent, struggling to survive in a crime-stricken neighborhood. The problem is further evidenced by the health data presented by Castaneda (2018). The infant mortality rate of Non-Hispanic blacks is more than double the rate reported for non-Hispanic whites. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of Minority Health, the rate was at an alarming 11 per 1,000 births for non-Hispanic blacks. The high mortality rate was attributed to low birth weight, maternal complications, sudden infant death syndrome, and congenital malformations. All the complications stem from the fact that African-American mother are twice likely to receive delayed or no prenatal care as opposed to their non-Hispanic white counterparts due to socioeconomic differences.
As aforementioned, the struggle to survive and cope under severe conditions increases the incidence of stress among black people. The stress increases the susceptibility of the population to an eating disorder and weight gain. According to Castaneda (2018), the percentage of African-Americans with diagnosable obesity tends to double at adulthood. The NIDDK report asserts that 48% of non-Hispanic blacks obese. Also, about 12% have been determined to be morbidly obese. Since obesity increases an individual vulnerability to cardiovascular conditions and diabetes, it can be inferred that the obesity statistic denotes that black people experience an elevated predisposition to developing obesity and heart diseases.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further affirm that African-Americans are a vulnerable population in the United States. According to the CDC (2019), the death rate for African Americans has decreased by 25% since 1999 to the dawn of 2015. Moreover, the predisposition of African Americans to death was high. The CDC further stated that African Americans aged between 18-49 years are two times more likely to succumb to their demise as a result of cardiovascular conditions as opposed to their white counterparts. It is notable that the living conditions for most African Americans make them susceptible to develop debilitating health conditions.
The ill-health experienced by African Americans tends to emanate from the beliefs, lifestyles, and choices synonymous with the black populace. For instance, food consumption and the type of food consumed are determined by African American traditions. The consumption of soul foods and comfort foods can be traced back to before black people came to the United States. Due to financial constraints, most African Americans eat what is available, and this may entail animal fats, salt, sugar, and other season foods. Today African Americans still prefer soul food and seasoned dishes that are served in restaurants. Since most of the recipes have remained unchanged; contain large quantities of salt, animal fat, and sugar, black people are predisposed to conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
African Americans, especially black women are adamant about participating in physical activity. According to Geyen (2011), black women participate less in physical exercise as opposed to their white peers. Also, most African Americans engage in sedentary lifestyles, which may result in the early onset of chronic diseases. The hesitance of African American women to engage in physical activity can be deduced from the fact that empirical studies suggest that black women feel comfortable with a larger body as opposed to their white counterparts. Since it is indisputable that physical activity improves the health wellness of an individual, the negative attitude of black women towards physical activity promotes physical ill-health.
The variation in believes sets have to a greater extent resulted in health disparities in the United States. Immunization disparities are also conspicuous in the American population. For instance, 60% of white Americans are vaccinated against pneumococcal infections, and just 37% of African Americans are vaccinated. Moreover, AIDS has been empirically determined as the leading cause of death among African Americans. The lifestyle of African American women also makes them vulnerable to AIDS infection. To be specific, black women are 23 times more likely to die from AIDS as opposed to their white counterparts. Since lifestyle and culture considerably result in health disparities in the United States, it is vital that health care interventions that seek to drive a change in behavior are implemented.
In conclusion, lifestyle, culture, and tradition have a central role in dictating the wellness of a population. African Americans living in a distressed location are susceptible to stress-related conditions and the poor eating habits that have been handed down from past generations are unhealthy and predispose black people to cardiovascular conditions. Also, the negative attitude of African American women towards physical activity increases the likelihood of black women developing ill-health since physical activity has numerous health benefits. Ultimately, it is crucial that health care interventions that are designed to promote a shift in behavior are invoked to alleviate the health disparity.
References
Castaneda, R. (2018). How being black in America is bad for your health. U.S. News . Retrieved from https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2018-07-26/how-being-black-in-america-is-bad-for-your-health .
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). African American health. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/aahealth/index.html .
Georgetown University. (2016). The health of the African American community in the district of Columbia: disparities and recommendations. Retrieved from https://www.georgetown.edu/sites/www/files/The%20Health%20of%20the%20African%20American%20Community%20in%20the%20District%20of%20Columbia.pdf .
Geyen, D. J. (2012). Behavioral changes for African Americans to improve health, embrace culture, and minimize disparities. ECI Interdisciplinary Journal for Legal and Social Policy , 2 (1), 2.
