Community Health Needs and Services - Essay Example

 Community Health Needs and Services The Impact of Culture, Environment and Health Education on Community Health Needs The physical and mental well-being of a person arises from the interplay of various factors such as culture, socio-economic status, and literacy levels. In America, the factors that influence overall health vary in severity from one community to another according to culture and the physical environmental factors. There have been grievous disparities in health between American native and non-native populations ever since the two populations made their first contact. Many factors have immensely contributed to the existing gap through socially disadvantaging the indigenous population. The American Census Bureau estimates that the American Indian population clocks at 4.1 million, a figure that reflect less that 1.5 percent of the total population in the United States (King, 2005). Historically, the American Indians have lagged behind in many areas of general life ever since the era of colonization. The essay will focus on the challenges that the American Indians face and further demonstrate how they impact their health needs and services. Many health practitioners hold the assumption that health is a universal value where one single framework can uniformly apply to all populations. However, most of these approaches have failed to apply and take root in the American Indian community due to the failure on the part of the healthcare providers to articulate their unique culture. The unique Indian culture is very rich, and many American Indians hold dearly to it as they continue to pass it down from one generation to another. The American Indians, therefore, looks towards their culture when looking for beliefs, values, and perspectives on illness and subsequent measures of managing it (Garcia). The government has over the years subjected the indigenous people to very many inhuman acts that have rendered them homeless and without land. Their culture is the only item that they still have that truly belongs to them and that nobody can take away from them. The American Indian culture holds extended relationships in high regard where they tackle many problems whether spiritual, mental and physical in a communal manner. Their notions differ considerably with the one-on-one consultations with the contemporary medical practitioners. They also hold their traditional healing methods in high regard, and it is always the first resort before even contemplating going to a conventional hospital. The shamans are all-knowing, and they know one’s problem before they even say it and they also have a cure for everything. The Indians expect the same from a hospital where the doctor is supposed to cure them without asking them to undertake other procedure such as lifestyle change. The ignorance of such important factors about health arises from the fact that majority of the American Indians lack any formal education. Educational discrepancies further compound the health crisis among the indigenous population. Research shows that there are few individuals within the American Indian population with either a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree since, within the community, the immediate needs of the family are more important than a formal education. 11.5 percent of this native group have bachelor’s degree compared to 24.4 percent of their white counterparts (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). There is a direct link between education and the lifestyle that a person chooses whereby an educated person understands the dangers of alcohol and the benefits of healthy eating to attain longevity. Many of the diseases prevalent in this community are lifestyle ailments such as cirrhosis and diabetes while the leading cause of deaths is accidents (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). One of the major problems within this community is chronic alcoholism, binge drinking and substance abuse among even the adolescents (Alexandria, 2006). Although the use of alcohol has a historical context to it, the over-indulgence shows the minimal health education that the natives get or the mode of transmitting it is ineffective. The excessive use of hard substances further brews an environment where domestic violence and violent victimization of children. Women within this community report a domestic violence than women from any other group. Children further suffer violent victimization, and they also experience trauma because they witness a lot of loss of loved ones due to substance abuse. The lack of proper education renders a majority of the native population unable to secure well-paying job hence they have to either make do with low wage work or no job at all. Most of the native families live in abject poverty at a 40 percent rate that is twice that of the rest of the population according to the Census Bureau (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). Many natives almost 42 percent live in rural areas that make provision of care and outreach programs a daunting task hence many opt to stay at home and consult the Shaman (King, 2005). In response to the unique state of conditions in the Native American community, the federal government has instituted several services to address specifically the sociocultural factors that affect them. The Indian Health Service is one of the institutions of the federal government that has in some way been successful in addressing some of the health disparities in the American Indian population (Tlatilpa, 2015). The IHS has managed to provide health centers for all the tribes and further appointed tribal health directors to oversee and control the provision of services that are appropriate for the community. The IHS provides medical care that is culturally sensitive to roughly 1.6 million American Indians through infusing conventional medicine with traditional healing aspects (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). One of the conditions under HIS stipulates that an Indian descendent is eligible for IHS services only if he or she lives within on or near a reservation land. However, over fifty percent of the American Indian populations no longer leave on the reservations hence significantly limiting the accessibility of the HIS services (King). There is a further lack of serious and consistent funding for healthcare in the IHS system creating an unstable environment to provide effective medical healthcare for this community (Sarche & Spicer, 2008). The other limitation of IHS lies in the perceptions of the native that see it as another ploy by the colonial powers to oppress them once again (Tlatilpa, 2015). IHS heavily applies western practices and tradition such as dualism that make the natives uncomfortable and suspicious. Medicaid is another healthcare plan that serves as the primary insurer for the majority of American Indians. However, Medicaid charges a fee that most natives cannot afford due to their overwhelming poverty hence most of them remain uninsured compared to the white Americans. Overall, the Native Americans experience overwhelming health disparities compared to other populations in America. The root of all these physical, social, and mental disparity may find their roots from the colonial era when many Indians suffered tremendous torture and harassment from the white Americans. Healthcare and any other intervention plans, therefore, need to demonstrate a genuine intention to help the Native Americans through revisiting the atrocities of colonialism and working towards healing. The case study on Native Americans shows how sociocultural factors such as racial identity, cultural practices, and socioeconomic status play a part in health promotion or demotion. References Alexandria, G. (2006). Is Health Promotion Relevant Across Cultures and the Socioeconomic Spectrum? Family & Community Health, 29(1), 20-27. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/journalarticle?Article_ID=622109 King, C. L. (2005). Culturally Relevant Competencies when Training American Indians/ Alaska Natives. National Register of Health Service Psychologists, 1. Retrieved from http://www.e-psychologist.org/index.iml?mdl=exam/show_article.mdl&Material_ID=68 Sarche, M. and Spicer, P. (2008). Poverty and Health Disparities for American Indian and Alaska Native Children: Current Knowledge and Future Prospects. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1136(1), 126-136. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2567901/ Tlatilpa, C. (2015). From Conquest to Indian Health Service: The Continued Colonization of Native Americans. California Polytechnic State University, 1-40. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=essp Read More