Health Disparities Experienced by Black/African Americans

Description

Black /African Americans are group of people who originate from any of the black racial parts of Africa. They are the second largest group minority, following the Hispanic/Latino population. They are considered a minority group, a label originating from their slavery roots. They are constantly being segregated and discriminated by the most group. Most of African Americans live in the south, but most concentrated in metropolitan areas. A complex set of social, economic and environmental factors can be identified as contributors to their current status However, poverty may be the most profound and pervasive determinant of their health status.

Poverty can be seen in their high rates of infant mortality and maternal mortality. African American children have health problems such as anemia, malnutrition, and lead poisoning and lack of immunizations. Severe high blood pressure is more common in this race. They have the greatest prevalence to obesity in the U.S. All these result to their lower life expectancy (Hudson, Banks, Holl, & Sewell, 2019).

Obesity is the health problem in the African American community which is a complicating factor in many medical and surgical techniques, affected by cultural standards of beauty. Hypertension is however the most prevalent health problem among these groups. Overall, they have the worst health profile compared to another population in the US. African American men in term of healthcare access are less likely to have health insurance half as likely to have seen a physician within the last 12 months, worse with younger African American men.

They have high rates of TB, and diabetes, type I and II prevalence is high among them. African Americans are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, stroke, renal disease, septicemia, diabetes, HTN and HTN renal disease, influenza and pneumonia. CDC estimates that 1 in 50 African American men are HIV+.