Local Health Practices of African Americans - Essay Example

The current discourse hereby aims to present a comparative analysis of the information in the book written by Purnell & Paulanka (2008) regarding African Americans with local practices reported by a family living in the area.
As required, the following aspects were also monitored: language, family organization, reasons for being in their present locality, and traditional health remedies. Interview with African American Family Within the local neighborhood, one had the opportunity to interview a traditional African American family, particularly the grandmother who was more than willing to answer some questions about local health practices. From what has been relayed, the grandmother asserted that most of her grandchildren have exhibited tendencies of being prone to catching influenza and upper respiratory infection. Likewise, she also relayed that the other common illnesses manifested among other family members (including the parents of the children) are cardiovascular or heart problems, hypertension, and diabetes. When asked what health problems she, herself, suffers from, she answered that she is currently suffering from diabetes and hypertension. Likewise, her son, who is the head of the family, also exhibits some tendencies to be overweight or obese.    One was also invited for a meal (lunch) as the grandmother with little grandchildren had a fair share of fried foods: chicken, salted pork chops, and heaping serving of mashed potato. The grandmother had a side salad of green lettuce, cabbage, and tomatoes with mustard; which, the grandchildren hardly touched. During the meal, the grandmother was a generous hostess who offered everything on the table and was replete with stories of yesteryears. She uses the traditional African American language of the prominent Black slang. It is funny to listen how she was able to imbibe contemporary culture’s language by listening to young African Americans within her neighborhood. She said that the whole family had been in the local neighborhood since she was a little girl. She narrated how she met her husband from the same community and thus, opted to stay put and raise her five children and now, her grandchildren in the same residential area. When asked how they address illnesses in the family, she responded by saying that for her grandchildren’s fever, coughs, or flu, she gives the traditional over-the-counter drugs that she had known to use for years. When the fever persists, she brings her grandchildren to the local community hospital for a check-up. They said none of the family members have any health insurance coverage and thus, makes it difficult for them to rely on frequent visits to the doctor. For her hypertension and diabetes, she said that she does not take any regular medication and relies solely on some occasional boiling of herbs, which had been referred to her by friends, relatives, or neighbors. Likewise, she confessed that due to her old age, she also suffers from some vision problems, maybe due to and confounded by her diabetes. However, she also disclosed that she has not consulted any physician to address her vision problems.   Comparative Analysis When comparing what has been relayed by the African American grandmother who was interviewed, one is convinced that most of the information that was disclosed corroborated those which were presented by Purnell & Paulanka (2008). For instance, it was noted in the book that a significant percentage of this “female population lives in poverty and has limited access to health care because of a lack of health insurance” (p. 63). This was confirmed by the grandmother who opted to provide traditional medications handed down from one generation to another and even tried herbal medicine to alleviate symptoms or to address her current health condition.   Also, as one observed from the kind of meal that was served and consumed, the tendencies for developing hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, and even obesity stem from their diet. A lot of fried food and those that are excessively rich in carbohydrates contribute to the preponderance of developing these chronic illnesses. This was exacerbated by the inaccessibility to regular health care and the taking of more accurately prescribed medications. Likewise, it was also revealed and corroborated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that “factors contributing to poor health outcomes among African Americans include discrimination, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health care” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013, p. 1).     Conclusion All information from the interview, therefore, attests to and effectively validates the information contained in the book and authoritative sources. African Americans’ inability to access health care due to poverty and conformity to local health practices make them more susceptible to developing chronic illnesses and exposing themselves to health hazards that could have been effectively and appropriately addressed to good health care access. Read More