African Americans and Chronic Diseases - Coursework Example

African Americans and Chronic Diseases Outline: Introduction: Definition and consequences of chronic diseases. How chronicdiseases are common in African Americans. Position of African Americans: Position of African Americans in overall healthcare. Risk of developing chronic diseases. Reasons why these risks have increased. Heart diseases: The causes of increased heart diseases in African Americans. The effects of the location, environment, and demographics. What is the solution and how it can be prevented. Diabetes: How commonly diabetes is found in African Americans. What are the reasons for diabetes being common? What are the solutions and ways of preventing? Cancer: Breast cancers in women. Prostate cancers in men. Problems with healthcare for cancer patients. Kidney diseases: The causes of kidney diseases. The solution and ways to prevent. Other diseases: Obesity; causes, solution, and prevention. Depression; causes, solution, and prevention. Stroke; causes, solution, and prevention. Ways to improve healthcare facilities Conclusion Introduction: Chronic diseases are persistent human health conditions that cannot be cured yet they can be controlled effectively. Some of them include heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, and other diseases which are widespread in the population worldwide. These diseases can have deadly consequences and as per the statistics, about 70% of all deaths in the U.S. are due to chronic diseases. Several types of chronic diseases are spread across the African American communities due to the social and environmental settings. If these diseases are not controlled, they can affect the whole community as well the future generations. This paper assesses the diseases that are common in African Americans, the causes, and ways to prevent or control them. Position of African Americans: Even though there have been great improvements in the healthcare sector of the United States, problems with unequal facilities amongst the members of different ethnic minorities have remained. These ethnic minorities tend to receive poor healthcare than the whites and also have higher risks to die prematurely. African Americans are one of those groups in the society who are subjected to poor health due to various socioeconomic and environmental factors. African American women are not in a good position when it comes to the health care resources. They are at a disadvantage and are not receiving certain resources because of which they suffer more than the men. These women face gender disparities in health care as lesser priority is given to them, and thus they suffer more from obesity, diabetes, breast cancer, etc (Erving, 2011). Moreover, the African Americans who live in low-income groups also face increased health care issues. It was recorded that the people with a low socioeconomic status suffered more diseases because they didn’t receive the adequate care. It was also assessed that the African Americans with a low income tended to be less satisfied with the facilities and services they received than the ones with middle-income. Low income groups faced deadly consequences due to the determinants of health status, the health insurance, and the constraints to serve the low income areas (Erving, 2011). Other facts that show the dreadful position of African Americans are the health insurance, the lack of education, the low income or poverty households, the rural areas, their diet, stress, obesity, and behavioral and cultural factors (Becker, 2004). These factors will be assessed simultaneously with the elaboration of various types of chronic illnesses. Heart diseases: Cardiovascular diseases are one of those chronic diseases which are more prevalent in African Americans. These people have a much higher risk of heart failure, which develops at an early age, than the other ethnic groups. Heart failure refers to the inability of the heart to pump blood as properly as it should. African Americans are subjected to heart failure at a rate of 20 times more than whites. There are four risk factors which lead to heart failure; high blood pressure, chronic kidney diseases, obesity, and low levels of good cholesterol. African American women are at a higher risk of heart failure due to obesity which is a greater problem in African Americans than any other race or ethnic groups (Myrna, 2009). African Americans also have a higher death rate from heart failure than other races and the reasons behind this are the socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, and cultural and behavioral factors (Feldman, 1999). Because of lack of education and awareness, the African Americans have an unhealthy diet which is also the consequence of living in low income areas. Unhealthy diet causes kidney diseases, high blood pressure, and diabetes which eventually lead to heart failure. Diabetes is also caused because of stress or hypertension which is another problem with African Americans as they live in tough situations and continuously struggle for survival which gives them stress and depression followed by diabetes (Becker, 2004). African Americans also do not receive the immediate treatment for chronic diseases because of which their risks of heart failure stand high. In order to reduce the risk of heart diseases, it is important that African Americans get checked and diagnosed in the early stage mostly when they are just young adults. Things such as blood pressure, cholesterol level, sugar level, and lifestyle features are important considerations to prevent future heart problems. However the problem lies where African Americans, unlike their white peers, are unable to reach out to routine health checks and treatments (Hu, 2007). Diabetes: Diabetes is another deadly disease which is hitting the African American community very hard. It is the disease where the body’s ability to respond or produce insulin is affected. The common type of diabetes is the type 2 diabetes which occurs in middle age adults. Diabetes in America is increasing but most of the cases are of African Americans and the reasons why this is so are clear. African American women commonly suffer obesity which is a major cause for diabetes. Excess amount of sugar or fat in the body is killing the African American community. Diabetes is known to be the third deadly disease after cancer and heart disease (Signorello, 2007). Historically, these black people considered diabetes to be a problem which is transferred from their parents. However parents who had diabetes would not control it and would rather continue to eat sugar and cook oily food. These communities usually use palm oil which can put the African Americans at higher risks of diabetes, obesity, and blood pressure (Jones, 2004). These black communities have trends of eating high sugary and fat diets and they neglect eating fruits and vegetables. Thus, this is the reason why diabetes runs in the family genes and children are more likely to adopt it too. Other reasons include the depressive symptoms which are concurrent in the African Americans because if their living conditions (Husaini, 2004). Thus, research was conducted to find out the association between depressive symptoms and diabetes and according to the conclusions; there was no association between diabetes and depression. However, the co-occurrence of diabetes and depression was associated with more sensitive care utilization which would lead to higher costs of healthcare among patients who are depressed. Diabetes continues to be a prevailing problem for the healthcare authorities especially in African American communities. These people need education and awareness through which they could change their lifestyles and control the problem of diabetes in their future generations (Husaini, 2004). Cancer: There have been overall improvements among all races for the prevention and cure for the most common types of cancers. However, African Americans still suffer greatly from different types of cancer even though there are programs for prevention awareness, early diagnosis, and treatment ways that can help the communities to live healthier lives (Becker, 2003). African Americans have faced the highest death rate from cancer and the shortest time of survival than any other ethnic group. There are several reasons for this including the inequalities that are still part of the community and which create barriers in the provision of high-quality healthcare. African American patients of breast and prostate cancer die earlier than other ethnic groups’ patients even if the same treatment is given (Husaini, 2005). The study shows many differences between the rural and urban differences in breast cancer screening. The rural areas of African American communities were analyzed and it was found that the rural women faced more barriers to mammography screening than urban women. Moreover, the rural women did not get a mammography because they believed they didn’t need it or they thought it was embarrassing and because their religious beliefs restricted them to do so (Husaini, 2005). Prostate cancer is a common type of cancer which causes the most amounts of deaths in African American men. Black men are at higher risks than any other ethnic group (Sellars, 2003). Prostate cancer is variable among men thus healthcare organizations are not in agreement whether screening should be done and at what age. Healthcare organizations carry out discussions with the patients and informally include them in the decision making process. African American men have lower engagement with the healthcare system which is why they suffer disparities in treatment, increased risk of dying during the disease, and other structural constraints (Sellars, 2003). Kidney diseases: African Americans have a much higher risk of kidney diseases than other white people. The reasons for this are the environmental factors which include poverty, poor health habits, obesity, and other genetic factors which also contribute in the high rate of kidney diseases. Diabetes and hypertension are also reasons because of which risks of kidney diseases increase. African Americans have risks of kidney diseases four times more than white Americans. This ratio is worst and it shows that all diseases which eventually lead to kidney diseases are present in African Americans (Nzerue, 2002). The most common causes of kidney diseases are diabetes and high blood pressure which are common in African Americans due to the socioeconomic and environmental conditions. Every 1 in 3 kidney patients in America is an African American. Moreover, they receive inadequate healthcare facilities which cause them to suffer deadly consequences. The ways to prevent the kidney disease is through controlling the diet and lowering the risks from an early age. Kidney transplants and other medications are also rarely provided in these communities due to the lack of funds and resources (Price, 2002). Other diseases: Other diseases which African Americans suffer more than any other ethnic group are depression, obesity, and stroke. Depression in African Americans exists at a much higher rate than other ethnic group members. However, the problem lies where the depression is uncovered as African Americans are much likely to report their symptoms (Stecker, 2006). This is because of the lack of healthcare provided to them and the lack of routine checkups that usually people go through. This is why the risk of mental health issues rises in African Americans as the lack of diagnosis makes it difficult for the patients to face depression and anxiety. Most of the time depression is observed in African American women and youngsters because of the difficult conditions that they have to face in their lives (Hu, 2007). These people need spiritual and moral help which is unavailable to them. Obesity is also an increasing problem which has hit the African Americans especially women of low income groups. The main reason for this is the unhealthy food habits and the genetics which is coming down since years. Low income groups do not have the awareness or knowledge about the healthy foods or importance of diets. They depend on oily foods rather having fruits and vegetables (Stecker, 2006). Stroke is another major disease which is common in African Americans twice as in white Americans. It is a major cause for disability and death in African Americans. It happens when the brain doesn’t get the needed blood. A stroke damages parts of the brain. African American women are at higher risks of stroke. Ways to improve healthcare facilities: According to the current statistics and studies, the African American community is in a serious condition where they desperately need to control their health risks. Their communities are high at risk in many of the chronic diseases which eventually become deadly. Healthcare facilities in these communities must be given proper attention so that the future generations are safe. The African American community contributes to a major part of the nation and thus ensuring their well-being is as important as other ethnic groups (Silverman, 1999). Even though there is still discrimination practiced against African Americans in many parts o the society, this healthcare issue must be resolved by the community as a whole because even the minorities can affect the future generations. There are many community hospitals which are funded by charities or government in African American communities to ensure their well-being. However, with the increasing number of patients it is becoming impossible to deal with all. There must be awareness programs which focus on the importance of prevention and healthy living. Hospitals and awareness programs must be especially designed to reach the rural areas where there is lack of education. Thus the whole nation has to work together for the reformation of healthcare for ethnic groups especially African Americans (Wolinsky, 2004). Conclusion: However, the paper concludes that African American communities are at higher risks of deadly chronic diseases and there is less being done about it. There are several reports that are assessed which show that the blacks have a long history with chronic diseases due to their lifestyle, socioeconomic, and environmental factors. There are many ways in which these diseases can be controlled but the resources are not reaching the African American communities. This makes them the ethnic group which is greatly hit by deadly diseases and poor healthcare facilities. There must be a strong action taken to save these communities before it’s too late. References Becker, G. (2003). Socioeconomic status and dissatisfaction with health care among chronically ill African Americans. American Public Health Association Becker, G. (2004). Self-Care Among Chronically Ill African Americans: Culture, Health Disparities, and Health Insurance Status. American Public Health Association Erving, C. (2011). Gender and Physical Health: A Study of African American and Caribbean Black Adults. American Sociological Association Feldman, R. (1999). 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Kidney disease in African Americans: Genetic considerations. National Medical Association Sellars, D. (2003). African American Men, Prostate Cancer Screening and Informed Decision Making. National Medical Association Signorello L. (2007). Comparing Diabetes Prevalence Between African Americans and Whites of Similar Socioeconomic Status. American Public Health Association Silverman, M. (1999). Self care for chronic illness: Older African Americans and whites. Springer Science and Business Media Stecker, T. (2006). The Triple Threat for Chronic Disease: Obesity, Race, and Depression. Elsevier Limited Wolinsky, F. (2004). Health-Related Quality of Life in Middle-Aged African Americans. Oxford University Press Read More