Health Issue Relate to Hispanic - Essay Example

Health Issue Relate to Hispanic Health Issue Relate to Hispanic Introduction The Hispanic population is the highest minority group in America and makes up over sixteen percent of the US population as expressed by the Department of Health and Human Services. Recent studies have shown that 41.7% of this population lack access to proper health care and health insurance (Vega et al., 2009). Owing to this fact, this population experiences increased prevalance rates and mortality to a wider range of diseases.

The most prevalent health issues impacting on this population entails heart disease, cancer, liver disease, respiratory complications, influenza or pneumonia and stroke (Spector and Spector, 2004). Asides from this, the population faces more environmental hazards in comparison to other population. There various health promotion activities and community services that are aimed at improving health in this population. This essay discusses the health issues facing the Hispanic poplulation in America.

Health Issues Affecting the Hispanic Population To start with, heart disease refers to the broad spectrum of conditions and illnesses that impact on the heart. The prevalance to heart diseases is higher among the Hispanics owing to factors such as obesity, high cholesterol, tobacco, smoking and hypertension. Research has found that nearly 21 percent of the annual deaths in this population are caused by the heart disease (Vega et al., 2009). This has been made worse by the fact that most of the members of this population do not maintain a healthy diet.

Cancer is the second issue that affects the Hispanic population. It has been observed that the most cancers that affect this population include stomach, rectum, breast and uterine or cervix cancer (Smith and Bradshaw, 2006). Lung cancer has been observed to be the leading cause of death among Hispanic men. In general, cancer contributes to 20% of deaths in this population yearly (Vega et al., 2009). It has been found that an active lifstyle and diet that contains antioxidants are critical in preventing the chronic illness.

Another health issues affecting this population is stroke (Vega et al., 2009). This is widely caused by key factors such as smoking and high cholesterol that have been found to be prevalent among Hispanics. These factors also worsen the health issue in the population.Environmental Hazards It has been observed that another health risk facing this population is unintended accidents. This includes car accidents and fires. While these accidents impact on children and adults, teenagers have been found to be at the higher risk for these accidents.

Based on the findings of a CDC report it is clear that 67 percent of the deaths among individuals between the ages of five and nineteen were classified as unintended accidents (Vega et al., 2009). A further 68 percent of these deaths were caused by car accidents. Finally, these individuals dwell in dirty environments and this increases their prevalence to respiratory diseases and other sanitation related diseases. Previous studies have shown that Hispanics are disproportionately influenced by diabetes.

Recent studies have shown that 45.4% of the Hispanic population is at risk of suffering from diabetes at a given point in life (Vega et al., 2009). The other health issue in the population is liver disease that is largely influenced by genetics, specific medications and alcohol abuse. This is worsened by the limited levels of exercise and an unhealthy diet among Hispanics.Health Promotion Activities and Community Services There are various health promotion activities that are aimed at improving health in the Hispanic population.

First, culturally competent health practitioners have been deployed to ensure there improved provision of health care (Spector and Spector, 2004). Secondly, community programmes have undertaken measures to improve awareness of the health issues facing the population and their prevention. Finally, health bodies such as CDC work in collaboration with community groups to promote health. There are various community services that target the Hispanic population including free screening services and establishment of programmes that are aimed at improving awareness on the health issues affecting this population.

Conclusion From the above discussion it is clear that the Hispanic population experiences increased risk to various health issues. The population experiences increased prevalance to various health conditions such as heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, liver disease, influenza or pneumonia respiratory complications and stroke. Most of the conditions are influenced by their lifestyle and environmental hazards. This explains why various health promotion activities and community services has been established to improve health in this population.

A healthy lifestyle is an individual’s responsibility and members of this population should be empowered to make healthier lifestyle choices. ReferencesSmith, D. P., & Bradshaw, B. S. (2006). Rethinking the Hispanic paradox: death rates and life expectancy for US non-Hispanic White and Hispanic populations. American Journal of Public Health, 96(9), 1686-1692.Spector, R. E., & Spector, R. E. (2004). Cultural diversity in health and illness (pp. 256-268). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Vega, W. A.

, Rodriguez, M. A., & Gruskin, E. (2009). Health disparities in the Latino population. Epidemiologic reviews, 31(1), 99-112.