US Hispanic Women and Fertility Rates

In America, the number of federally identified tribes is 562 with every tribe having its own culture, belief system and practices. That is why there seem diverse type of behaviors among this population related to healthcare seeking and healthcare attitudes. Amongst the most common components that lead to this diversity in healthcare seeking behaviors is the role of culture which affects healthcare intervention, prevention, and care. So, it is very important to understand the diversity of culture in particular

The members of the largest ethnic group being granted legal permanent residence in the United States are from Mexico. According the 2010 census 16.3% of the population of the United States is Latino (Spector, 2013). The Latino population will increase to 30 % of the total population by the year 2050 based on current projections (Juckett, 2013). There are several barriers to health care faced by many in the Latino population. They include: language barriers, lack of health insurance, mistrust, not have a legal status and a different culture of health care (Juckett, 2013, p. 48). Juckett also points out that most medications that require a prescription in the US are obtained without prescriptions in immigrants’ home countries (2013).

The main ethnic/racial groups affected by the health issue are non-Hispanic African American females, Hispanic females, and Native Americans/Native Alaskans. There were key study findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that U.S. birth rates for adolescents vary considerably by race and Hispanic origin (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Thus, this provides even more clear evidence on the difference of ethnic/racial groups. Additionally, in 2008, the birth rate for Hispanic adolescents was approximately five times the rate for Asian/Pacific Islander adolescents, three times the rate for non-Hispanic white adolescents, and somewhat higher than the rates for non-Hispanic African American and Native American/Native Alaskan adolescents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

Hispanic families are larger on average compared to other non-Hispanic whites. Hispanic culture has collectivist values and others options count with in decision making. Many Hispanics combine traditional health care practices with western medicine. Socio-demographic such as one in three Hispanic doesn’t speak or understand the English language and did not reach a twelfth grade education One in four Hispanics live below the poverty line compared to non-Hispanic whites (2015). Hispanics are three times less likely to be insured as non-Hispanic whites (2015).

“Hispanics in general have a strong work ethic and are willing to work hard and long to provide for their families” (Allison & Bencomo, 2015. p.58). Therefore, encouraging traditional morals and teaching children about the history of the culture is of great importance in Hispanic families (Allison & Bencomo, 2015. p.59). “Spanish is the primary language spoken in Hispanic immigrant families” (Allison & Bencomo, 2015. p. 59); however, English speaking family members will help with translation and communication when

Currently within the United States one of the fastest growing minority population (Schwartz & Scott, 2012) is the Latinos. In 2010 Census Bureau Brief ( Ennis, Rois-Vargas, & Albert, 2011) it stated how an estimated 15 million Latino individuals were living within the United States, which is approximately about 16% of the entire U.S. population. There is one big problem with addressing the Latino population, and that is the family patterns are either misrepresented or not properly understood, due to the label of Hispanic and Latinos being placed together. These two groups may share the same spoken language of Spanish and have similar cultural ancestry but the diversity among Hispanic and Latinos (Schwartz & Scott, 2012) make generalizations about their lifestyles difficult. The term Hispanic came to be used in the 1970’s by government officials (cdc.gov, 2011) in trying to provide a diverse label on this population that had connections to speaking Spanish and the Spanish culture. Latino became more of a termed to be used when distinguishing between Mexican (Hispanics) and Latinos who descendants from Latin America such as Cuba and Puerto Rico.

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.

The 13 million people who live along the United States - Mexican border1 face unique health issues and disparities than their northern and southern residing counterparts. Access to health care is a great health determiner for the many foreign-born residents living in the United States, especially for undocumented immigrants2. The topic to be addressed in this review will include current health issues and accessibility of care for the people living along the US – Mexico border. This study will include infectious diseases, substance abuse as well as issues facing women and children. The combination of many social factors including increased poverty and drug use, limited healthcare and low self-efficacy are all impacting the rates of

With the increasing immigrant population a third barrier affecting access to health care is a cultural barrier. Culture barriers can include values and beliefs, language and race and ethnicity. Health beliefs and behavior can become a barrier when patients decide not to seek medical treatment and instead turn to home remedies and healers when treating illnesses. Approximately 10% of Americans speak a language other than English and can be classified ad being limited in their proficiency. For these patients language becomes a barrier and they are less likely to receive optimal medical treatment (Flores, 2006). Horton and Johnson (2010) stress the importance of communication in reducing disparities and increasing the trust of patients in the health care system. As reported by the American College of Physicians, evidence reveals that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to receive inferior care when compared with non-minorities. This occurs even when minorities have access to insurance and adequate income (Racial and ethnic disparities in health care, 2010).

The United States is a melting pot of ethnicity, in which, the healthcare system and its benefits vary widely. Those who are able to obtain primary care insurance via a full time employer, typically have the benefits of full coverage care. However, for many minority groups, full time work alone is hard to acquire, along with the health benefits full time employment provides. Culturally competent care among the diverse populations helps increase health promotion and gain a cultural perspective. One of these mentioned groups is the Hispanic population which is steadily increasing within the United States.

Latinos and Hispanics have a long history here in the United States of America. The term “Hispanic” is most often used by the government, which is what will be used through the rest of this document. Hispanics are the fastest growing group in the United States and their numbers will continue to increase as years go by. Mexicans are the largest subgroup of Hispanics making up 66% of the population while the other 34% includes Central and South Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanic origins. California, Texas, and Florida have the highest populations of Hispanics. In regards to health insurance, Hispanics have the highest rates of uninsured in the United States.

Through Leininger’s model and theory, health assessment and clinical care of a Mexican-American young adult can be culturally competent when the provider assesses such factors. By offering care and treatments that are congruent with a patient’s culture, there is greater likelihood of reception and integration of the health care intervention into the patient’s typical health practices (Andrews & Boyle, 2012).

Adapting to different cultural beliefs and practices requires flexibility and a respect for others view points. Cultural competence means to really listen to the patient, to find out and learn about the patient's beliefs of health and illness. To provide culturally appropriate care we need to know and to understand culturally influenced health behaviors. However, becoming culturally competent is a much more daunting task. Culture (and ethnicity) often influences a patient’s perceptions of health and illness. Therefore, if healthcare providers appear insensitive to cultural diversity, their actions may negatively affect the quality of the healthcare that they provide.

The goal of this qualitative study was to investigate the influences of acculturation, SES, and cultural health beliefs on Mexican-descent women's preventive health behaviors. The researchers conducted interviews among 5 focus groups which consist of women with different levels of acculturation and SES. According to those interviews, Mexican-descent women who were less U.S. acculturated and had lower SES were less likely to seek breast cancer screening, less likely to know the danger signs of breast cancer, and less likely to seek immediate care for health-related problems. The major reason why women did not participate in breast cancer screening was that they felt healthy and did not have breast cancer symptoms. Mexican-descent women believed

A home visit that I would like to discuss was with my 43 years old Hispanic female client and her newborn daughter in her parent’s home. The purpose of this home visit was to check how the newborn was doing because she was in the NICU for one week because she was born premature and also to educate the mother about available birth control options and resources. The mother along with her five children lives in a rental house. The mother is the only person working in the family; she works in a fast food restaurant. The mother stated that her parents help her with taking care of her children; she stated that newborn’s father is involved, but she didn’t discuss if he’s helping them financially. In the Hispanic population, heart disease, cancer, unintended injuries, stroke, and diabetes are the top causes of death (Allender, Rector, & Warner, 2014). More Hispanics live at the poverty level, have a lower level of education, and have higher uninsured rates compared to other racial groups (Allender et al., 2014). Their health concerns are related to the fact that the population is young and has a high birth rate (Allender et al., 2014). Hispanics tend to be present-oriented, which makes it hard for them to keep time schedules or prepare for future appointments (Allender et al., 2014). Hispanics believe that illness may be a form of punishment for their sins, and they cope with illness through prayers and faith that God will heal it (Allender et al., 2014).