Culture and Care: Health Promotion Program for Hispanic Males in Utah

This report addresses the issue of obesity among Hispanic males aged 12-18 in Sunset, Utah, emphasizing the importance of culturally specific health interventions. It highlights the use of the Cultural Assessment Framework (CAF) model to understand the unique characteristics of the target population, including their family-oriented culture, dietary habits, and values. The report outlines a health promotion and disease prevention program designed to educate parents and children about the dangers of junk food and the benefits of exercise, implemented through schools and healthcare providers. The program aims to reduce obesity rates by addressing the cultural factors contributing to unhealthy lifestyles, with a focus on parental involvement and public education. The evaluation of the program will take place over a three-month period. The program highlights the importance of addressing the health challenges of the youth to ensure a healthy future.

Running Head: CULTURE AND CARE
CULTURE AND CARE
Name of the Student
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Author Note

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Culture specific studies for the assessment of health issues is important in the current,
highly multicultural state of the country. America houses countless cultures under the roof of
this country and studying them in groups will help us understand the health issues they might
have and is experienced by the people of their cultures on a regular basis. Each culture have
trends that are different from other cultures. Hence, a demographic study of multicultural
populations help focus a certain kind of people and take steps accordingly. In this paper we
will be exploring the scenario in which Hispanic males in Utah within the age of 12-18 are
suffering from obesity and devising solutions to the condition.
The Health promotion and disease Prevention program that will be undertaken will be
accurately determining the population which will serve as the target for the study. Each
member in the group will be questioned along the lines of obesity. They will be diagnosed
accordingly and asked about their needs and the triggers that make them consume food
enormously (Cruz et al., 2004). Their uniqueness and ethnicity will be taken into
consideration while analyzing the situation all the while efforts will be taken the required
support for these groups.
This will be done according to the CAF model, which is the Cultural assessment
framework model. The framework within which the solution will be organized, will be
systematic in a way that allows the analysis to be valid for the culture while avoiding any
triggers that might be considered as misconduct while interviewing the group. It will be
having five levels of assessment that will be accordingly explained in the following
paragraphs.
The culture specific demographic variable in this study is limited to males in between
the age of 12 and 18. That means the group consists of adolescent males and teenagers, who
are just entering adulthood. They belong to Sunset Utah and are Hispanic or Latinos by

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descent. The culture specific epidemiological and environmental influences would consist of
a plan and program for obesity management in teenagers. It was done by issuing a public
notice through the local government hospitals and healthcare providers to the adults and
caregivers of these children.
The cultural and specific characteristics of Hispanics is very different form the normal
American population. They are much more guarded and family oriented with tightly knit
communities who are related to each other either by blood or legal marriage. These children’s
parents try to be highly involved in their lives and tend to pamper them on a regular basis.
Parental figures are mostly at work and these children tend to consume a large quantity of
junk food (Kopelman, 2000). The children are usually allowed a lot of money to spare by
various people in their family and this makes their eating habits worse.
The target assessment revealed that Hispanics value their culture and festivities very
deeply. They have an increased need for personal contact and hold relationships very dear top
them and maintain them in all seriousness. They believe in staying healthy and the parents are
seen showing concern for the rising number of cases of obesity in children than ended in
deaths at later yet younger stages of their life due to heart attacks, diabetes and even cancer
(Wyatt, Winters & Dubbart, 2006).
The children affected by obesity can be counseled via their parents and doctors at
hospitals. Public education programmed should be launched as parents must understand that
junk food can potentially kill their children. The education can be done by circulating
manuals amongst every family. Each school can be asked to conduct classes for the education
of children and youngsters about the hazards of obesity. People need to be educated about the
benefits of exercise and avoiding junk food, along with a healthy diet.

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The program is to be designed keeping in mind that teenagers and children are being
addressed so the ease of understanding is immensely important. The programs hopes to bring
about a reduction in the number of obese children. In the research it was evident that children
go to junk food restaurants to eat out or kill time. Children get bored alone and these spots are
used for hanging out (Strauss 2000). Thus, the program has to help them understand clearly
that this kind of of lifestyle will inevitably end up harming the child. Parents are also to
blame because they do not intervene in the early stages that leads the children to develop
these bad habits. However, the program is a reminder that it is better late than never.
There is a dynamic relationship in between the various stages of the program that has
to be implemented. It is planned after various interviews conducted by the executives’ with
parents who have come to realize their children are obese. The Hispanics believe in staying
happy and full and indulge in various festivities to embrace wealth and prosperity and food
and junk is a luxury for children (Ogden et al., 2000). Given how delicious they are, the
children inevitably turn to them over healthier alternatives that are nutritious. The
implementation will be difficult because the working parents will have to keep a close eye on
their children from now on to ensure that such terrible eating habits are not continued. The
planning was done in a way that ensures, maximum numbers of parents become aware of the
situation and realize that their sons would not even live long enough to enjoy life if such
lifestyles are continued.
The planning team will be briefed about all the factors that need to be considered
while planning the program especially the fact that the plan required a strictly multicultural
approach. The Evaluation would be done after three months of implementation and will be
followed up every alternative month after that to process the results of the plan. It should
have a positive impact on the people of Sunset with reduced rates of obesity amongst the set
of people evaluated.

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To conclude, this program will effectively help the people who are afflicted with
obesity and help the overall improvement of their health in the area with help from both
schools and healthcare providers. The youth is the future of the country and hence they
should be saved and helped to battle their problems and make sure they lead a normal life.

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References
Cruz, M. L., Weigensberg, M. J., Huang, T. T. K., Ball, G., Shaibi, G. Q., & Goran, M. I.
(2004). The metabolic syndrome in overweight Hispanic youth and the role of insulin
sensitivity. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 89(1), 108-113.
Kopelman, P. G. (2000). Obesity as a medical problem. Nature, 404(6778), 635.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity and
trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999-
2010. Jama, 307(5), 483-490.
Strauss, R. S. (2000). Childhood obesity and self-esteem. Pediatrics, 105(1), e15.
Wyatt, S. B., Winters, K. P., & Dubbert, P. M. (2006). Overweight and obesity: prevalence,
consequences, and causes of a growing public health problem. The American journal
of the medical sciences, 331(4), 166-174.