Minority Groups in The United States

This article discusses the four recognized minority groups in the United States - Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and African-Americans. It explores the population growth of these groups and the health disparities they face. The article also highlights initiatives and prevention strategies to address these issues.

Running head: MINORITY GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES 1
Minority Groups in The United States
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MINORITY GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES 2
There are mainly four recognized minority groups currently located in the united states:
Hispanics, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and African-Americans. Although about
one out of every US citizen belongs to either of these four groups, their population growth is
significantly higher compared to the population growth of the white. Researches conducted show
that due to the increase in population in the minority groups, by 2020, the percentage of school-
age Americans coming from the minority groups will around 40. Therefore, the health of
minority people is a key matter not only of social justice but also of national self-interest
(Creamer et al., 2016).
In the United States, the biggest minority group is African-American. Even though there
are many African-American citizens in the United States, almost a third of the population live
below the poverty level. Additionally, the unemployment level among the black community is
approximately twice that of whites. On the other hand, the rate of African-Americans living in
the middle class has increased considerably in the past ten years. Moreover, the mortality rate of
among the African-American community is the largest compared to the other minority groups.
Additionally, the mortality rate of black Americans is almost 50 percent higher than that of
whites. Also, the excess death rate of the black community is 42 percent higher than the white
(Lanier et al., 2014).
Consumption of a balanced diet is important in enhancing the health challenges facing
the African-American community. Many blacks avoid dairy products which are essential
contributors to three major nutrients (vitamin D, potassium, and calcium)- because many of them
believe they are lactose intolerant. However, lack of or insufficient amounts of these nutrients
has a major health effect. Consumption of dairy products reduces the risks of heart disease,

MINORITY GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES 3
obesity, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. These conditions are generally at a high rate for the
African-American people compared to the whites (Nguyen, Chong & Chong, 2014).
In a recent poll, the African American trailed the whites in at least five positive health
indicators. The poll indicated that adults in the black community suffering from obese were 40
percent compared to 29 percent of the whites. Moreover, the polls showed that women
undertaking prenatal care in the first trimester was 75 percent for the blacks and 89 percent of the
whites. Additionally, adults aged >65 years in the black community who are vaccinated against
influenza is 50 percent compared to 69 percent of the whites (Alegría, Molina & Chen, 2014).
In a recent research study, researchers collected and analyzed information from 3,081
African-American and whites. The study covered 30 years. The information was categorized into
various divisions with the aim of finding out the possible explanation of the dissimilarity in
cardiovascular health behaviors between the two classes. The divisions were socioeconomic
factors, psychosocial factors, and neighborhood factors (Burchard, Foreman, & Celedón, 2015).
Socioeconomic factors included education, income, net worth, difficulty managing the
basic needs, health insurance, homeownership, and employment status. The psychosocial factors
included racial discrimination, depression, six or more months of stress, and hostility.
Neighborhood features included racial and ethnic separation, neighborhood poverty and
resources. Additionally, the researchers conducted research on physical activity and health
behaviors such as smoking and diet. The results showed that improved educational opportunities
and increased incomes to blacks would be a major factor in reducing the gap of cardiovascular
health behaviors between the African-American and whites. Furthermore, the results showed that
socioeconomic features caused the major difference in cardiovascular health behavior, with

MINORITY GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES 4
neighborhood factors having minimal effect and psychosocial factors the least (Williams &
Wyatt, 2015).
Due to the health disparities that affect mainly the African- American people compared to
whites, there are several health promotion activities that have been initiated to help the minority
groups in the United States. These activities include community legitimacy and marketing
perspective (Santiago & Miranda, 2014).
Marketing strategies- social marketing must be used in the sharing of health-related
information to ensure it reaches the minority population. The projects are designed to make sure
that the information is received by the targeted audience.
Community legitimacy- Churches in a community, have an important role in countering
health disparities. Churches have initiated African American faith-based organizations (FBOs)
which focus on how to help the black community people in order to curb the health disparities.
Some of the activities that the organizations conduct include screenings, health fairs, and
education within their health ministries (Zilanawala et al., 2015).
There are three categories of health promotion prevention which are used to administer a
care plan or treatment. The divisions are primary prevention, secondary prevention, and tertiary
prevention.
Primary prevention- These are preventive measures that help in the prevention of a
disease or illness before it arises. One of the ways of conducting primary prevention is through
the establishment of routine immunization projects in countries.
Secondary prevention- these are health preventive measures that are conducted to detect
disease in its early stages and provide a treatment procedure for the illness, disease, or injury to

MINORITY GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES 5
prevent serious problems developing. One of the ways of conducting secondary prevention is
through routine screening for all related cancer illnesses in many countries.
Tertiary prevention- These are the preventive measures that are aimed at rehabilitating
patients who have suffered from a serious illness.
In relation to the African-American community, the best approach to health promotion
prevention would be primary prevention. This is because it will help to curb the majority of the
illnesses affecting them, such as obese and influenza, by undertaking immunization and
participating in regular physical activities.
Before developing a care plan for a patient, some cultural beliefs and practices related to
the patient must be regarded. Some of the cultural beliefs include religion, social structure, and
death.
In regards to religion, many African Americans often have a powerful religious
connection, mostly with Christian communion- church of God in Christ and baptism. However,
other African-American follow Islam. Maintaining quality wellbeing is often associated with
good religious service. Many churches support a health program through which parish nurses and
congregation provide good health with blood pressure checks, flu shots, and health education.
Therefore, it is important to know the cultural belief of the African American before
administering any care plan package.
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References
Alegría, M., Molina, K. M., & Chen, C. N. (2014). Neighborhood characteristics and
differential risk for depressive and anxiety disorders across racial/ethnic groups
in the United States. Depression and anxiety, 31(1), 27-37
Burchard, E. G., Oh, S. S., Foreman, M. G., & Celedón, J. C. (2015). Moving toward
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Creamer, J., Attridge, M., Ramsden, M., Cannings‐John, R., & Hawthorne, K. (2016).
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Lanier, P., Maguire-Jack, K., Walsh, T., Drake, B., & Hubel, G. (2014). Race and ethnic
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Santiago, C. D., & Miranda, J. (2014). Progress in improving mental health services for
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180-185.

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Williams, D. R., & Wyatt, R. (2015). Racial bias in health care and health: challenges
and opportunities. Jama, 314(6), 555-556.
Zilanawala, A., Davis-Kean, P., Nazroo, J., Sacker, A., Simonton, S., & Kelly, Y. (2015).
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