Report: Health Status Analysis of Hispanic/Latino Population in U.S.

This report provides an analysis of the current health status of the Hispanic/Latino population in the United States. It examines the prevalence of fair or poor health, health disparities in diseases like coronary illness, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, and nutritional challenges. The report highlights barriers to health, including language/cultural and socio-economic factors, and discusses the role of community health workers in promoting health. It proposes an effective health promotion plan incorporating culturally competent nurses and emphasizes the use of a socio-ecological care model to address cultural beliefs and practices. The conclusion stresses the need for revised health promotion activities integrating these models to reduce disparities and improve the U.S. healthcare system for this population.

Running head: ANALYZING THE CURRENT HEALTH STATUS 1
Analyzing the Current Health Status of Hispanic/Latino Population in the United States
(U.S.)
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ANALYZING THE CURRENT HEALTH STATUS 2
Analyzing the Current Health Status of Hispanic/Latino Population in the United States
(U.S.)
The Hispanic/Latino ethnic community consists of any individual of Cuban, Mexican,
Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture. As per the 2015 United
States (U.S.) Census Bureau, there are approximately 56.5 million Hispanics living in the
U.S. This is the largest minority community in the U.S. and represents 17.6 percent of the
aggregate U.S. population (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2018).
Numerous health disparities impact Hispanics in the U.S. (Sanchez & De La Rosa, 2018) and
the purpose of this paper is to review the current health status of the Hispanic population in
the U.S. The current health profile for the Hispanic population is prepared by reviewing the
current health status, the health disparities, barriers to health, current health promotion
activities and recommendations for most effective health promotion prevention plan, in
addition to a culturally-specific care plan.
An Overview of the Current Health Status of the Hispanics in the U.S.
The current health status of the Hispanics can be understood by assessing the extent of
individuals belonging to fair or poor health group. In comparison with non-Hispanic whites,
about 10.1 percent of all Hispanics across all ages are in fair or poor health (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017). Several race and ethnicity related factors
influence the health of this group. Family is critical to the Hispanics that the requirements of
family completely supplants the necessities of an individual. Hispanics depend vigorously on
prayer, especially amid ailment or when somebody is facing death (Falkner, Green &
Whitney, 2018). Hispanics consider sickness as imbalance that requires a restricting power to
reestablish wellbeing, and they additionally have strong belief in superstition and consider
ailment to otherworldly causes. They additionally depend on healers and home cures
including ceremonies, herbs, talismans, and prayer (Falkner et al., 2018). In this manner, the

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status of the group and the role of race/ethnicity related factors in influencing the health were
assessed.
An Insight to the Health Disparities and Nutritional Challenges for Hispanics in the
U.S.
With respect to health disparities, disparities in relation to disease prevalence can be
assessed. Hispanics have higher levels of obesity than non-Hispanic whites (HHS, 2018).
Disparities exists in coronary illness, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and stroke in correlation
with the non-Hispanic whites (Falkner et al., 2018). With respect to nutritional challenges,
among the Hispanics, Cubans and Puerto Ricans have moderately higher levels of food intake
related with CVD risk, for example, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, refined sugars, and red
meats (Siega-Riz et al., 2014). Cubans and Puerto Ricans additionally have lower levels of
food intake associated with lower risks of CVD, for example, fiber, folate, fish and fruits
(Siega-Riz et al., 2014). The nutritional challenges for the Hispanic group vary across
different groups and Cubans and Puerto Ricans are at-risk for hypertension, obesity and
diabetes.
Barriers to Health for the Hispanic Population
The Hispanic population faces language/cultural and socio-economic and education
barriers for achieving optimal health. Approximately one out of three Hispanics have
constrained English capability; around one out of four Hispanics live below the poverty line,
contrasted with non-Hispanic whites; and around one in every three has not finished
secondary school (CDC, 2015). Undocumented immigrants have employment in substandard,
high-risk employments and high occupational hazards with constrained or no medical
coverage (Velasco-Mondragon, Jimenez, Palladino-Davis, Davis & Escamilla-Cejudo, 2016).
Lack of connectedness with the providers due to language and cultural barriers, prevent the
Hispanics from trusting their providers (Sobel & Metzler Sawin, 2014) and accessing

ANALYZING THE CURRENT HEALTH STATUS 4
preventive care and national healthcare system or promotional messages. Thus, the barriers
(language and cultural, and healthcare), have hindered the Hispanics from accessing
preventive care and created health disparities.
Current Health Promotional Activities
Currently, health promotion is encouraged and practiced through community health
workers (CHWs). CHWs function as promoters and are well-situated to advance changes in
their communities since they share the same dialect and cultural attributes, are held in high
regard, and are viewed as good examples (Rios-Ellis et al., 2015). CHWs additionally furnish
participants with health literacy to comprehend the referrals and to help address barriers
(Brown, Vasquez, Salinas, Tang & Balcázar, 2018). CHWs identify and understand Social
Determinants of Health (SDOH) (Sobel & Metzler Sawin, 2014) and they use this in their
health promotional activities.
An Effective Health Promotional Plan for the Hispanics
In addition to CHWs, an effective health promotion prevention involving the three
levels, primary, secondary, and tertiary is to provide culturally-competent training to all
nurses in the healthcare system. As researcher and educators, nurses can ensure primary
prevention and address social and genetic risk factors. As advocates and deliverer of services,
nurses can screen, control risk factors and offer early intervention and ensure secondary
prevention. As care managers, nurses can coordinate with other teams and provide high
quality of life to patients and ensure secondary prevention (Falkner et al., 2018). Thus,
culturally-competent nurses, is one of the effective health promotion prevention plans for the
Hispanics.
A Culturally-Specific Care Plan for Culturally-Competent Health Promotion
There are cultural beliefs or practices must be considered when creating a care plan
for the Hispanics for culturally competent health promotion. Hispanics have confidence in

ANALYZING THE CURRENT HEALTH STATUS 5
social association including family and male and female roles and environmental control,
including inside/outside locus of control, wellbeing convictions, and folk prescription (Giger
& Davidhizar as cited in Sobel & Metzler Sawin, 2014). These cultural aspects must be
included in the care plan. Thus, the socio-ecological care model will be best to support
culturally-competent health promotion for this population. The socio-ecological care model
incorporates individual factors and how these exchange with components within the external
factors – environment and community (Falkner et al., 2018). Since, Hispanics believe in
strong patient-provider relationship based on the concept of connectedness as defined by
power of language and extent of cultural synchronization, and kindness (Sobel & Metzler
Sawin, 2014), socio-ecological care model is most relevant. Thus, considering Hispanic
cultural beliefs or practices of social organization and environmental control, the socio-
ecological care model can ensure culturally-competent health promotion.
Conclusion
The Hispanic population in the U.S. encounter severe health disparities. Disparities
exist in the prevalence of disease and dietary intake. Since the Hispanics have their own
unique cultural beliefs and values, they often face language/cultural barriers, poor preventive
care plan and poor healthcare coverage. Thus, the current health promotion activities need to
be revised to accommodate socio-ecological care model integrating CHWs and culturally-
competent nurses. Such a model featuring nurses can ensure culturally-competent health
promotion and reduce disparities across the U.S. healthcare system.

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