HEALTH TRADITIONS

Health Traditions

Health Traditions

This paper is based on the topic of health traditions in African Americans. For this paper, I have conducted interviews from three families that belong to African-American culture. All the three interviewees were married females namely, Jane, Cynthia, and Emile, aged between 45 and 55 years. They were all working mothers employed in a healthcare setting. So it was relatively easy for them to answer the questions posed to them.

On a question regarding the most prevalent disease that has affected the African American population, there was a unanimous answer from all three of them as they stated that “The prevalence of diabetes is 70 percent higher among African Americans as compared to white Americans”. According to (Spector, 2004), the death rate among black women with lupus rose by 70 percent from 1979 to 1998. African Americans are eight times more likely than white Americans to be struck by sarcoidosis, a chronic disease that interferes with the functioning of vital organs, especially the lungs. Blacks are more likely to get cancer and to die from the disease than other racial and ethnic groups. Compared to white men, black men are 1.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer and two to three times more likely to die of the disease (Spector, 2004).

Mrs. Jane and Mrs. Emile were both skeptical of the American healthcare system and in their opinion, there was a strong sense of racial discrimination prevailing among the African American community. While Mrs. Cynthia seconded their opinion while stating that, “Race and ethnicity influence a patient's chance of receiving many specific procedures and treatments”. African Americans are 13 percent less likely to undergo coronary angioplasty and one-third less likely to undergo bypass surgery than are whites” (Spector, 2004).

It is harsh fact that Among preschool children hospitalized for asthma, only 7 percent of black, compared with 21 percent of white children, are prescribed routine medications to prevent future asthma-related hospitalizations. The length of time between an abnormal screening mammogram and the follow-up diagnostic test to determine whether a woman has breast cancer is more than twice as long for African-American women as in white women (Spector, 2004). African Americans with HIV infection are less likely to be on antiretroviral therapy, less likely to receive prophylaxis for pneumocystis pneumonia, and less likely to be receiving protease inhibitors than other persons with HIV. African-American residents of nursing homes are all far less likely than white residents to have sensory and communication aids, such as glasses and hearing aids (Spector, 2004). Disparities in healthcare are often ascribed to differences in income and access to insurance. Medicaid coverage also affects the continuity of physician care. African Americans are less likely than whites to see one specific physician for care.

Regarding a question on healthcare access to African Americans, they were all disappointed and held the point of view that their voices and concerns are not being paid attention to. Lack of insurance is considered the most significant barrier to health care, and ...