Major cultural and ethnic groups represented in my community are Mexican, Hispanics, Latinos, Asian Americans, and other smaller populations. There is a great diversity of ethnic and racial groups that comprise the neighborhood and sites across the area. Looking at these groups, I decided to choose Mexican immigrants to investigate their health issues and how these are addressed.
While Mexicans are the biggest group of immigrants in the United States, they have the lowest naturalization rate in the country (Budiman, 2020). According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (2019), Mexican Americans have the leading heart disease rates, cancer, diabetes, and unintentional injuries (accidents). Among other health issues is obesity which has more than 40% of the Mexican population, and causes health deterioration (National Center for Health Statistics, 2021).
Considering heart disease as one of the leading causes of mortality among Mexican Americans, this issue is not addressed comprehensively and specifically, according to researchers. Among existing interventions, there is the Promotores de Salud program that involves community health workers, speaking Spanish, who educate Mexican and Hispanic communities on heart-related problems and solutions, which proved to have a positive impact on heart disease prevention and management (Soto Mas, 2018). Some unique programs address the cancer disease, such as a cervical cancer prevention education campaign that is effective and is created for Mexican Americans specifically (Moore-Monroy, 2013).
Overall, it should be stated that, still, researchers claim that Mexican American immigrants lack tailor-made interventions that would consider the background and cultural peculiarities of this group. Therefore, prioritizing the Mexican population’s unique health programs is a crucial action that authorities should take to improve the nation’s health status and well-being.
References
Budiman, A. (2020). Key findings about U.S. immigrants. Pew Research Center. Web.
Moore-Monroy, M., Wilkinson-Lee, A. M., Verdugo, L., Lopez, E., Paez, L., Rodriguez, D., Wilhelm, M., & Garcia, F. (2013). Addressing the information gap: developing and implementing a cervical cancer prevention education campaign grounded in principles of community-based participatory action. Health promotion practice, 14(2), 274–283. Web.
National Center for Health Statistics. (2021). Health of Mexican American population. Web.
Soto Mas, F., Schmitt, C. L., Jacobson, H. E., & Myers, O. B. (2018). A Cardiovascular Health Intervention for Spanish Speakers: The Health Literacy and ESL Curriculum. Journal of community health, 43(4), 717–724. Web.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. (2019). Profile: Hispanic/Latino Americans. Web.