The United States (U.S.) government recognizes Puerto Ricans as U.S. citizens by virtue of Puerto Rico being a U.S. Commonwealth. Traditionally, Puerto Ricans are a subgroup of the Latino subgroup. However, most of them have relocated to South Florida in pursuit for greener pastures, and in the process acculturalization has taken place. Despite maintaining close family connections with their friends and relatives, the health of most Puerto Ricans living in Florida has deteriorated due to poor lifestyle (Abraido-Lanza, Chao, & Florez, 2005). Studies have shown that Puerto Ricans recorded increased cases of diabetes and obesity contrary to the non-Hispanic whites (Ho et al., 2006). Hence, it is essential to explore the health seeking behavior of Puerto Ricans living in the U.S., and the effect of sociocultural beliefs to healthcare.
The probable causes of increased rates of diabetes among Puerto Ricans in the U.S. may include social stressors such as unemployment, sedentary lifestyle, and lack of guidance in making decisions. Consequently, the overall health of many Puerto Ricans has deteriorated. Besides, low socioeconomic status among many Puerto Ricans has also impacted access to better education and healthcare services. In addition, they lack health insurance to cater for their medical expenses. Thus, most Puerto Ricans in the U.S. are not living healthy. They exercise poor dietary habits yet they live sedentary lifestyle. As a result, obesity and diabetes are the key health problems among the population (Gonzalez, 2008).
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
It is evident that the problem of diabetes is an issue of concern among Puerto Ricans. The population needs to be advised accordingly on healthy living, including eating well-balanced diet and exercising regularly. Furthermore, Puerto Ricans in South Florida also needs socioeconomic empowerment to help them gain access to quality healthcare services. This study is relevant because it will not only provide a detailed view about the problem of diabetes among Puerto Ricans but it will also focus about nursing the diabetic patients.
References
Ho, G. Y., Qian, H., Kim, M. Y., Melnik, T. A., Tucker, K. L., Jimenez-Velazquez, I. Z., ... & Rohan, T. E. (2006). Health disparities between island and mainland Puerto Ricans. Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública , 19 , 331-339.
Abraido-Lanza, A. F., Chao, M. T., & Florez, K. R. (2005). Do healthy behaviors decline with greater acculturation? Implications for the Latino mortality paradox. Social science & medicine , 61 (6), 1243-1255.
Gonzalez, L. (2008). Health-care seeking behaviors of Puerto Ricans with diabetes mellitus who live in South Florida: an exploratory study. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/3717/
