Components of the Black Populations in America - Term Paper Example

Cultural and Health Presentation Cultural and Health Presentation Demography of African Americans African American is the term thatrefers to the portion of the population of the United States of America that has individuals with an African descent. Most of these people are descendants of victims of the slave trade who moved to the United States as slaves but freed and now live together with other races. African American also refers to other components of the black populations who have immigrated from Central America, South America and Africa. In the US 2010 national census, African Americans accounted for 12.6% of the American population, with a 12% increase in the number of individuals enumerated. Detroit had the highest population percentage of African Americans at about 82% in 2010 followed by New Orleans, Baltimore, Atlanta, Memphis and Washington DC. About half of African Americans live in the southern states of the US, which is an improvement from the situation in 1910 when 90% lived in the south. Currently, less than 10% live in western states while the rest live in equal proportions between the northeast and Midwest. This redistribution is mainly due to poor living conditions in the south attributed to poverty, unemployment, and racial discrimination by the non-black population to the African Americans. Cities and states with the high African American percentages have high rates of crime, poverty, mortality and unemployment. Even where African Americans live in affluent backgrounds, their communities and families live in poor conditions (Fuller-Thomson and Minkler, 2002). AIDS Acquire Immunodeficiency Syndrome is the condition caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), a lentivirus of the retrovirus family. AIDS causes deterioration of the immune system of its victims, resulting in reduced resistance to common infections, culminating in the death of its victims. So far, there is no cure for AIDS and victims can only prolong their lives and live an almost normal life by use of antiretroviral drugs. Etiology There are two main subtypes of HIV that causes AIDS; HIV type 1 and HIV type 2, though scientists have identified other causative agents. According to Smith, Richman and Little (2005), more than one subtype of HIV can infect one individual, resulting in HIV superinfection. Once in the body, the virus targets immune cells, mainly the CD4 cells, which are infected. Once infection occurs, the CD8 immune cells attack and destroy the infected CD4 cells, with the former dying in the process. This cycle continues as the now multiplying virus attacks new cells until the levels of immune cells in the body reduce. AIDS does not cause death of its victims, but the reduced immunity increases the chances of attack from disease causing agents including bacteria, viruses, protozoan and fungi (Douek, Roederer and Koup, 2009). Signs and Symptoms HIV infection progresses to AIDS in three main steps, initial stage, latent stage, and the late stage or full-blown AIDS. The first stage occurs immediately after infection and includes mild symptoms like fever, sore throat, muscle pain, malaise, swollen lymph nodes, rash, and sores in the mouth and esophagus. These symptoms are short-lived, lasting for a maximum of a few weeks before subsiding and the patient gets into the latent stage. The stage of latency is asymptomatic and lasts between two weeks and twenty years or more. In these first stages, the CD4 count is normal, and the level drops sharply as the disease progresses. In full-blown AIDS, the patient’s immunity is extremely low, with less than 200 CD4s per microliter of blood, increasing the likelihood of diseases the body would otherwise have fought (Hollingsworth, Anderson and Fraser, 2008). Transmission HIV can only survive in blood, blood extracts, lymph, and genital secretions. Therefore, the only way that HIV gets from one person to another is in activities that involve the exchange of these body fluids between an infected individual and one that is not infected. These routes of infection include blood transfusion with infected blood, sexual intercourse with infected bloods, sharing infected piercing or cutting tools, and mother to child infection. While the blood-related routes pose the highest risk of transmission, sexual activity accounts for the highest proportion of HIV infections worldwide. Mother to child transmission is easy to prevent if the child delivery occurs in a health institution (CDC, 2011). Prevalence The World Health Organization classified HIV/AIDS as a global pandemic as it has killed over 25 million people since its discovery in 1981. Its devastating effects are evident in sub-Saharan Africa where it has resulted in retarded economic growth and increased poverty levels. However, in other parts of the world, for instance, the United States, HIV is prevalent especially among the African Americans among whom the rate of new infections is the highest. The major cause of these saddening statistics is because African Americans live in poor conditions, which lead them to turn to drug abuse and irresponsible sexual behaviors that predispose them to HIV infection. Another contributing factor for the high rates of infection is complacency among the African American population mainly because poverty denies them education opportunities and, therefore, they are ignorant of all information surrounding the scourge (World Bank, 2004). Cultural Factors of African Americans Cultural factors are principal contributors to the high rate of HIV infection among the African Americans; most are due to the deplorable living conditions. Consequently, if their living conditions improve including education standards, health care, poverty levels and diet, then there is a chance of reversing the current trends. Language While many present day African Americans are familiar with the American English, they mostly prefer using derivatives or pidgin versions of the language among themselves. These varieties, like the African American Vernacular English, involve speaking mannerisms that make users acquire some undesirable social characteristics. For instance, the mode of communication is on the extreme ends, either non-serious, or serious to the extent of being violent. In this communication environment, it is difficult for listeners to grasp the seriousness of a concept. Instead of language acting as a mode of effective communication, it becomes a hindrance as some types of information, like the gravity of the HIV situation, cannot be effectively communicated. Diet The immune status of an individual influences the risk of HIV infection and progression to AIDS. A balanced diet boosts immunity and healthy bodies are capable of fighting off infection, or at least reduce disease development if infected. The types of foods popular with African Americans are fast foods with high fat and calorie content, which provide energy for the body but do not help to protect the body against disease causing pathogens. In line with this is their utter disregard for recommended daily intake of various dietary requirements. However, even if they cared, poverty prevents them from having balanced diets containing all the bodies’ nutritional requirements, as these foods are, too expensive for many African Americans to afford (Ramaiah, 2008). Poverty does not take the whole blame for the poor culinary habits among many African Americans; the popularity, availability, and the appealing nature of junk foods also have a role to play. For instance, even in the poorest of localities, there are posters and other forms of advertisement for junk foods filled with appealing images of the foods. In addition, in every street corner are vendors, shops and hotels promoting and selling junk food at fair prices. The media, including print and electronic serve as a channel for the promotion of fast food consumption. Finally, most makers of fast foods not only make them tasty, but also appealing to the eye, making it hard for one to stop eating them once they start. Physical Activity This is a common problem in this technology driven global village, but more so among the unemployed. Many African Americans fall in this category of people without a regular source of income. According to Dudgeon et al. (2004), physical exercise has both psychological and physiological benefits for people living with HIV/AIDS. For instance, it reduces muscle wastage by improving the aerobic fitness status of the patient. In addition, physical exercise increases nutrient uptake from the food an individual consumes into the body due to an invigorated circulatory system. On the psychological front, tests on HIV positive individuals indicated an improvement in their general perception of their lives. For individuals who are not yet infected, physical exercise improves the immune status, giving them more protection against HIV and diseases that predispose one to HIV. Social Environment There is widespread use of intravenous drugs among African Americans, probably as an escape strategy from the poor living conditions. However, since many cannot afford personal needles and syringes for the drug habit, they share them among many individuals. This results in the mixing of fresh blood, leading to infection if one or more users are HIV positive. In addition, poverty or absence of positive morals drives many African American youth to criminal activities. Tough stance against crime by the administration results in arrests, trial and imprisonment of African American criminals, though not without some discrimination in the process (Bryan et al, 2006). In prison, the hardened criminals do all hurtful things to the new arrivals, including rape, resulting in high HIV transmission rates among African American inmates. The African American community stigmatizes men who have sex with men and, therefore, no African American would want other fellow men to classify his as such. In these communities, they have a slang term, Down Low, which initially meant doing things in secrecy. Nowadays, it has taken another meaning, that African American men who desired other men can have their relationships in secret but have a girlfriend in a public relationship. According to CDC (2005), men who have this relationship have resulted in increased rates of HIV infection among women in the African American population (Wolitski et al, 2006). Access to Health Care Poverty is the leading cause for African American woes, including their limited access to healthcare facilities. Many of them rely on the government or donor-funded health schemes, as they are not able to afford private health insurance. These schemes are unable to cope with the increased demand and, therefore, most HIV infected poor African Americans remain unattended (Mead et al, 2008). Health Education Program Design An education program for African Americans on how to avoid HIV infection, and take care of the infected should consider all the factors that predispose them to infection. It would involve helping them to identify cheap alternatives to the healthy foods that are necessary for a strong immunity. For instance, instead of animal proteins, they should identify and use plant proteins, some of which are as nutritious as animal proteins. In addition to a balanced diet, African Americans need a physical activity in the form of a hobby that would keep them from destructive habits, in addition to improving their health and wellbeing. This physical activity would also help bonding with fellow African Americans around activities with positive outcomes. The curriculum would take into account the high rates of drug abuse and related HIV infections and educate them on drug abuse, including increased risk of HIV transmission among others. Those already into the habits should learn how to protect themselves by avoiding practices like sharing of piercing equipment. Education about prison life ensures that African Americans know the ill effects of jail life to their health and life in general. Finally, the education should include lessons about HIV, its modes of transmission, how to protect oneself from infection, and care of infected individuals. Preventive healthcare should be emphasized since there is no cure, and antiretroviral treatment is not readily available to all. References Bryan, A., Reuben, N., Robbins, D., Monica, S., and ONeill, D. (2006). Effectiveness of an HIV prevention intervention in prison among African Americans, Hispanics, and Caucasians. Health Education Behaviors, 33, 154. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2005). HIV prevalence, unrecognized infection, and HIV Testing Among Men Who Have Sex with Men Five U.S. Cities. MMWR Weekly, 54(24), 597-601. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2011). Diagnoses of HIV infection and AIDS in the United States and dependent areas. HIV Surveillance Report, 2009, vol. 21. Douek, D.C., Roederer, M., and Koup R. A. (2009). Emerging concepts in the immunopathogenesis of AIDS. Annual Review of Medicine. 60, 471–84. Dudgeon W., Phillips K., Bopp, C., and Hand G. (2004). Physiological and psychological effects of exercise interventions in HIV disease. Exercise HIV Review 18(2). Fuller-Thomson, E., and Minkler, M. (2002). African American grandparents raising grandchildren: A national profile of demographic and health characteristics. Health and Social Work, 25(2), 109-118. Hollingsworth, D. T., Anderson, M. R., and Fraser, C. (2008). HIV-1 transmission, by stage of infection. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 198(5), 687-693. Mead, H., Cartwright-Smith, L., Jones, K., Ramos, C., Siegel, B., and Woods, K. (2008). Racial and ethnic disparities in U.S. healthcare: A chart book. The Commonwealth Fund Report, vol. 27. Wolitski, R. J., Jones, K. T., Wasserman, J. L., and Smith, J. C. (2006). Self-identification as "down low" among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 12 US cities. AIDS and behavior, 10(5), 519–29. Ramaiah, S. (2008). HIV / AIDS: Health solutions. New Delhi, Delhi: Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Smith, D., Richman, D., and Little, S. (2005). HIV superinfection. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 192 (3), 438–44. World Bank. (2004). World development indicators 2004. Washington DC, US: World Bank Publications. Read More