The Hispanic/Latino Populations: A Case Study

Latino/Hispanic Americans cover a much wider demographic then believed. Latino/Hispanic Americans consist of; Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Guatemalan American to name a few. Latino/Hispanic Americans are the largest ethnic group in the United States. The Latino/Hispanic culture is very different than ours. Their culture differs in economics, politics, family traditions, family structure, religion, education, language, fashion, art, music, dancing, and food. As natural born Americans in the United States it is important for us to learn about the different cultures migrating into the United States. Many United States citizens have a hard time understanding other cultures; being culturally insensitive is a common theme in the United

Throughout this first chapter of Latino Americans the key points in my opinion were the following. Starting with the origin story of the Americas, the book mentions there might not be a definitive starting point because there “500 nations in North America before a European ship ever dropped anchor off the Eastern Seaboard” (Suarez 3). The book from this point on chronologically starts narrating, first about 55 years before Protestant refugees from Mayflower ever stepped on American soil, a Spanish sailor Pedro Menendez de Aviles forced French protestants from their Florida coast settlement to then stablish St. Augustine. From this point the book continues to tell the stories of Juan de Oñate, from witnessing the founding of Santa Fe, the oldest capital of North America, to exploring more than half a dozen of American states, he is one of the most fundamental conquistadors who is the least

The following discussion and statements are done so such that they incorporate the ideas and struggles of the Latino races regarding certain subjects down upon chapter 3 “Latinos in the united states” and chapter 4 “borders, immigration and citizenship”. This discussion is about the oppression that people Latinos and Native Americans and other ethnic groups have gone through. Some points in the discussion are oppression towards Mexican American and Native Americans, how they were treated and the impact they had.

Donna, your discussion board was very interested. You and I are writing about the same individuals which are Latinos. Latinos are a great topic to write about because they have some interested materials about their culture. I agree that Latinos are more likely to use alcohol and drugs in their adolescent years. The journal article, “Substance Use and Cumulative Exposure to American Society: Findings From Both Sides of the US–Mexico Border Region” supports that, “Mexican immigrants increase their use of substances while in the United States by means of the early age at immigration and years living in the United States” (Borges, Cherpietel, Orozoco, Zemore, Wallisch, Elena, Mora, & Breslau, 2016, p.119). Adolescents also have severe behaviors

Underrepresented Minorities is a big topic that I felt covering in this class was necessary, especially on the leadership viewpoint. Being part of the Latino community, we have struggles of being misrepresented, especially lately in the social media concerning Donald Trump. His comments hit home with many of us and drew many Latinos to attention that we are underrepresented as a community within the minority category.

The Latino community is ironic at Viana’s college because it was unforgiving if you do not make your Latindad known. For example Viana stated, “Knowing how hard it could sometimes be to accept the group and have the group accept you in return” (Garrod, 2012, p. 113). Rather than being a group to bond with each other and embrace their ethnicity, the group gossips or rejects members. This fact about the group was surprising to me. I am in a club known as National students speech hearing language association (NSSHLA), where everyone in the group is close with each other. Each member tries the help each other especially when we all take the same course, we help each other with homework. I visualized that all groups/clubs members for any organization

The National Cancer Institute provides great examples of cancer health disparities and the burdens each ethnic group face. Factors such as education, living conditions, exposure to environmental toxins, workplace, and access to healthcare can influence the survival rate and mortality rate of those diagnosed with cancer. More so, medically underserved populations face the most burdens resulting in late diagnosed or no treatment at

Latino immigrants have been coming to America for a very long time. Most of the time it is for economic prosperity that they were not able to obtain in their home country. The Latino minority group has been getting a stronger presence in the United States as the years go by, but very few people know or understand how Latinos tend to identify themselves.

Asian Americans face health disparities in cancer, chronic diseases, hypertension, and diabetes, mental health, and among the elderly (Sy, n.d.). I wanted to focus on what one of the most leading cause of Asian Americans or Pacific Islander is Cancer. Asian Americans generally have lower cancer rates than the non-Hispanics white population. However, disparities still exist in the certain type of cancer. According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Asians are 40 percent less likely to have prostate cancer as white men, but they are twice as likely to have stomach cancer. Although Asians women are 30 percent less likely to have breast cancer than white women, they are twice as likely to have stomach cancer. OHM also conclude that Asian men and women have 2.1 and 2.3 times the incidence of liver and IBD cancer as the non-Hispanic white population. Asian are twice as likely to die from stomach cancer as compared to the non-Hispanic white population, and Asian women are 2.4 times as likely to die from the same disease (Office of Minority Health,

In the African American community, health insurance can be more frequently unaffordable due to medical history or preexisting conditions, matrimonial status, lack of education and employment in jobs that do not provide adequate health care advantages. Because of the lack health insurance, many people do not go to doctors for preventative care, thereby significantly increasing the likelihood of cancer going undiagnosed until it enters late, and even untreatable stages. African Americans also have a higher risk of vulnerability to harmful toxins such as insecticides and pesticides when they are working on farms as well as using them in the home. (Johnson, 2015). The cancer mortality rate for African American men is 33 percent and for African American women is 16 percent (DeSantis, 2013). As a result, more African Americans that are living in industrialized and work environments along with air and water pollution are revealed to toxins that can lead to cancer (Johnson,

Socioeconomic factors, social environment, lifestyle behaviors and access to preventive health-care services contribute to health disparities in the Hispanic community (CDC.gov, 2004). Lack fluency with the English language and differences in cultural attitudes between the U.S. health-care system and Hispanic patients also contribute to health disparities.

The American Dream for everyone alike is to prosper and succeed in a land that individuals are determined to call their own. Almost every immigrant that has entered the United States has done so in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and for their families. For most Hispanic-Americans, the goal was the same. Hispanic-Americans come from a variety of different Spanish-speaking countries. Just as the wave of immigrants from Europe came to the United States of America in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Hispanics came from places like Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. Although everyone came with the same goal in mind, to make sure their families would have a better life in a new environment, each subgroup within the Hispanic community faced different circumstances once they arrived in the United States and have different definitions of what it feels like to be an American.

The Hispanic community in the largest minority in the USA and the fastest growing, it is also one with a high incidence of preventable diseases such as Diabetes, periodontitis, colorectal cancer and HIV. Obesity and teen age pregnancy are significantly more prevalent in Hispanic/Latino population as well. Rate of vaccination is also below that of the majority of the population. Addressing their health care makes good public health and economic sense.

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asians Americans, and rates vary with age, acculturation and location. The stated differences may represent the influence of environment, such as diet and health habits, and therefore may be modifiable. When it comes to liver and stomach cancer, Asian Americans are tree times more likely to develop liver cancer than non-Hispanic whites and twice as likely to develop liver cancer. In the Chinese, liver cancer is associated with Hepatitis B (precursor to liver disease and cancer) and in whites, liver cancer is primarily associated with alcohol. For colon cancer, it is suggested that diet is related, so is other environmental risk factors. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Chinese

Income level and level of education are known factors that continue to reveal in numerous studies on the effects of these factors as a health modulator positively or negatively. It was not surprising however then to see that Hispanic speaking Spanish only had lower rates of screening for colon cancer and my assumption is that they were less educated and by implication had lower income levels. I wonder what will be the results of a study like this conducted in Spanish if we will see differences in completion rates. It is sobering to see that even in primary prevention services especially for something that is known to save lives and tremendously reduce cost of disease treatment, , we see disparities that should not be there. As, APRNs, we are at the forefront and will be advocates for implementing services that decrease these disparities.