The Situation of the Hispanic Population in the United States - Research Paper Example

? Hispanic Population Assessment Hispanic Population Assessment Identification of the Population Crese, Schmidley and Ramirez (2008)and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget define the Hispanic population as people who trace their origin/descent to Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spanish speaking South and Central American countries, Cuba and other Spanish cultures, regardless of their races. This group is also referred to as Latino Americans. The origin can be considered as the nationality group, country, heritage or lineage of the person or the parents or the ancestors of the person before their arrival in the United States. Information from the US Census Bureau indicates that the Hispanics are about 50.5 million, constitute 16.3% of the total US population (Humes, Jones & Ramirez, 2010). In the Los Angeles, California area, Hispanics form the major portions of the population and a large percentage of this population are of Mexican ancestry. There are also many Cuban Americans, Guatemalan Americans, Puerto Ricans, Honduran Americans Nicaraguan and Salvadoran Americans, Colombian Americans Chilean Americans and Peruvian Americans. Characteristics of Community in which the Population Resides Los Angeles is one among several counties in the state of California US. It has a total area of 12,308.5 km2 or 4,752.32 square miles, 0,060.87 square miles being land and 691.45 square miles being water. The County borders 70 miles of the coast on the Pacific Ocean. The county is irregularly shaped and its topography is characterized by towering deep valleys, mountain ranges, forests, islands, desert, lakes and rivers. Los Angeles is divided west-to-east by rugged mountains called the San Gabriel Mountains which have a dense cover of coniferous forests and subject to frequent, plentiful snowfall in the winter. The county has a subtropical-Mediterranean climate, having plenty of sunshine and an annual average of 35 rainfall days. Average day temperatures are 19 degree Celsius and night temperatures are 14 degree Celsius. According to the US census conducted in 2010, the county had a total population of over 9.8 million people, making it the county with the highest population in the US. The county is also a home to over 25% of all Californian residents. The county has a very heavy population density of 2425 people per square mile. Persons under 5 years comprise 6.6% of the population, those under 18 years comprise 24.5% while those aged 65 years and above comprise 10.9% of the population. At the same time, females constituted 50.7% and males 49.3% of the population (The US Census Bureau, 2012). The racial makeup of the County was 4,936,599 (50.3%) White, 1,346,865 (13.7%) Asian, 2.2% Korean, 1.0% Japanese, 0.9% Vietnamese 72,828 (0.7%) Native American, 856,874, (4.0%) Chinese, 3.3% Filipino, 0.8% Indian, 8.7% African American, 26,094 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 0.1% Samoan, 0.3% Cambodian, 0.3% Thai, 0.1% Pakistani, 438,713 (4.5%) from two or more races and 2,140,632 (21.8%) from other races (The US Census Bureau, 2012). Since 1910s and until date, Los Angeles hosts the largest number of Central American community in the U.S, as well as the largest number of Mexican American community. In 2010, Los Angeles was declared a Latino majority state. During the same year, 2010, Non-Hispanic whites comprised only 27.8% of the population compared Hispanic or Latino of any race who numbered 4,687,889, representing 47.7% of the population (The US Census Bureau, 2012). The county has a high literacy rate and high school graduates represented 75.9% of the population while persons holding a bachelor’s degree or more constituted 29.0% of the population. As of 2010, the per capita income of the county was $27,344 and the median household income was $55,476. The population living below poverty level was 15.7%. Home ownership rate is 48.2%. From the census of 2000, 39.6% of the households were found to be composed of married couples of opposite-sex living together, 14.9% of the households had a female householder without a husband present, and 6.7% had a male householder without a wife. There were 90,139 opposite-sex partnerships which were unmarried and 15,492 same-sex partnerships or married couples. Demographic characteristics of the target population The mean age of the Hispanics in Los Angeles is 28 years old compared to the county mean age of 34. Information from the US Census Bureau (2012) also reveals that 35.8% of Los Angeles is Mexican, 3.7% Salvadoran, 0.5% Puerto Rican, 2.2% Guatemalan, 0.4% Honduran, 0.4% Nicaraguan, 0.4% Cuban 0.3% Colombian, 0.3% Peruvian, and 0.2% Ecuadorian. This gives the racial/ethnic composition of the Hispanic population in Los Angeles. Hispanics enrolled for elementary in and high school constitute 26% of the student population. The percentage of Hispanics aged 25 years and above and had attained at least an high school education is 25% and those with a bachelor’s degree or more were also 25% but those aged 18 years and over comprised only 18% if the population. About 22% of the Hispanics in the county live below poverty (city-data.com, 2010). 63% of the Hispanic households comprise of married couples. The population’s per capita income is $17,839 and the median household income was $57518. Population Health Data for Hispanic-Americans According to the National Health Interview survey (NHIS) (2010), the Hispanic-Americans population stands at 49.3 million persons. The report shows that out of this number, about 17 million have excellent health, 14 million very good health, 13.5 million good health, 4 million fair health and about 0.9 of the population had poor health. The survey also shows that the population of the Hispanic-Americans is almost equally represented in terms of gender with the male population standing at 25.3 million, and the female population at about 24 million. The data, in view of gender reveals that males with excellent health status stand at 8.9 million while females stand at 8.0 million. About seven point three million males have very good health status against 6.7 females. The population of males with good health stood at 6.9 million while the female population in this category stood at 6.6 million. The survey also revealed that the male population with either poor or fair health stood at 2.1 million against 2.6 million for the female gender (Sondik, Madans & Gentleman, 2011). Leading Causes of Mortality among Hispanic-Americans According to the National Vital Statistics Reports (2007), the leading causes of mortality in the Hispanic-Americans population is heart diseases. The disease is the main cause of mortality at 21.4%, followed by cancer at 20.4%, and unintentional injuries at 8.7% (Heron, 2011). Leading Causes of Morbidity among Hispanic-Americans The National Health Interview Survey 2010 reveals that the major causes of morbidity among the Hispanic-Americans are HIV and AIDS, cancer, diabetes, Asthma, stroke and obesity. HIV and AIDS prevalence among the Hispanic-Americans accounts for 25 cases per 100.000 according to Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2002). Lung cancer is also found to be high among the Hispanic-Americans with prevalence with at least 67,400 new cases being reported annually. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2002) report shows that about 2.5 million, which accounts for 9.5% of Hispanic-Americans, have so far been diagnosed with diabetes. About 3 million Hispanic-Americans have also been diagnosed with Asthma (Heron, 2011). County, State, And National Health Statistics Comparisons on Mortality Data All the data on major causes of mortality among the Hispanic-American population are fairly the same. All the statistics reveal that the major causes of mortality among the Hispanic-American are heart diseases, cancer, and unintentional injuries (Sondik, Madans & Gentleman, 2011). With regard to morbidity rate, the trend is the same as all the statistics reveal that major causes of morbidity among the Hispanic-Americans are HIV and Aids, cancer, diabetes, Asthma and Obesity. The other data that may be used to access the information includes American Cancer Society and American Lung Association survey reports (Information Publications, 2005). Major risk factors National Vital Statistics Reports (2007) shows that the major risk factors among the Hispanic-Americans are stroke, diabetes, chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis, homicide, prenatal conditions, influenza and pneumonia. For example, the data shows that stroke contributes to 5.2% of total deaths among the Hispanic-Americans with diabetes accounting for 4.7% of deaths being witnessed (Heron, 2011). The survey shows that the risk factors are mainly due to high tobacco usage among the population, high cholesterol, insufficient exercise and obesity (Information Publications, 2005). Health Issues A survey was conducted to obtain information on the health concerns of the Hispanic Americans living in California. The survey included 10 volunteers from the Hispanic community living in Los Angeles, randomly picked from the streets and residential areas with an even distribution across the city. Only adults were involved in the survey to ensure that the respondents had the basic appropriate understanding of health issues. Distribution across the coverage area and random identification of respondents were considered to ensure that the survey reflected high confidence levels. Four areas of health concerns were involved in the short survey, each having a few questions for consideration (Appendix 1). Firstly, the survey sought to understand the main health issues affecting the Hispanic American community in Los Angeles. This section also sought to enumerate on the specific causes of the health concerns among the respondents. From the survey, it was apparent that the main health concerns for the Hispanic Americans are heart conditions and diseases (4/10), brain diseases and conditions such as stroke and depression (3/10), lifestyle diseases such as blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and hypertension (2/10), and malignancies mainly cancer and carcinoma (1/10). Secondly, questions touching on the community strengths to offer health care to this population were asked and the respondents unanimously felt that the community was ill prepared to cater for the special health needs of Hispanic Americans. One of the respondents is on record citing the social exclusion factors that the community faces as the main reason for the lack of special health services designed for the community (Gonzalez, February 25, 2012). Thirdly, the respondents were asked if there were particular gaps in the provision of the special health services needed by the community. Literacy levels and poverty were identified as the causative factors for the apparent gap in provision of the needed health services (7/10). Social exclusion and stereotypes held among the members of the Hispanic American community were also identified as contributing factors for the service provision gap (3/10). Finally, the survey sought to find out the role of nursing in the community’s health service provision. All the respondents were unanimous (9/10) that the role of nurses in the provision of health services was indispensable and invaluable. A minority of the respondents (1/10) had other sources of traditional healing power. From the responses above, it was clear that the general minority tag that the rest of the Hispanic American community in the United States applies in California to a large extent. The most dominant theme in the challenges affecting the community is similar to the other maligned communities in the American demographics profile. Poverty associated issues affecting uptake of health care sidelines the community to be among the least covered communities in health care service provision. Socioeconomic and political factors equally present the community with challenges of presentation in welfare programs that can assist in health care improvement. Health Agencies There is a good number of health service agencies in California designed to improve health care provision to the Hispanic American community living in the state. Three of these agencies are briefly discussed below. Firstly, the Network for a Healthy California- Latino Campaign offers public health services to the California community of the Hispanic origin. Services offered include child welfare, mental health, food stamps, drug and substance abuse treatment, and vocational rehabilitation services (CHHS, 2007). Focus of health service provision for this agency is health promotion with some element of primary prevention. The rationale of this categorization is based on the fact that the general approach for the agency is the highlight on child health and other primary concerns such as rehabilitation as illustrated above. Secondly, the Latino Behavioral Institute based in Los Angeles offers various services targeting the Hispanic community and other disadvantaged groups. Services provided target behavior change for the Hispanic populations with regard to health concerns faced by the communities. Drug and substance abuse forms the main target for the agency but other social health concerns such as family life and other occupational needs for behavior change. Health promotion and primary prevention therefore constitute the bulk of health input and contributions made by the institute due to the special focus on behavior therapy (LBHI, 2010). Thirdly, the Alliance for Latino Behavioral Health Workforce Development, which has a national outlook, has roots and establishment in Los Angeles for the Hispanic community mental health issues. Main services offered by this agency are gathering professional assistance and advocacy for the mental health wellbeing of the Hispanic community in California and in the entire country. Workforce development is the main area of focus for the agency with special attention to mental health for the community. It is therefore largely a secondary prevention agency due to its focus on mental, psychological and behavior wellbeing of the Hispanic community (Acosta and Loera, 2011). References Acosta, H. & Loera, G. (2011). “Alliance for Latino Behavioral Health Workforce Development: A National Movement in the Making,” Retrieved from: http://www.nrchmh.org/attachments/lbhi914plenary.pdf CHHS (2007). “Network for a Healthy California- Latino Campaign,” Retrieved from: http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/CPNS/Pages/LatinoCampaign.aspx city-data.com. (2010). Los Angeles County, California (CA). Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/county/Los_Angeles_County-CA.html. Crese, A., Schmidley D. & Ramirez R. (2008). Identification of Hispanic Ethnicity in Census 2000: Analysis of Data Quality for the Question on Hispanic Origin, Population Division. Working Paper No. 75, U.S. Census Bureau, July 27, 2004 [Revised July 9, 2008]. Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0075/twps0075.html#f1. Heron M. (2011). Deaths: Leading Causes for 2007. National Vital Statistics Reports. Vol. 59, number 8, August 26. Humes, K., Jones N. & Ramirez R. (2010). Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf. Information Publications (2005). Hispanic Americans: A Statistical Sourcebook. New York: Information Publications. LBHI (2010). “Latino Behavioral Health Institute: 17th Annual Latino Conference,” Retrieved from: http://lbhi.org/ Sondik, E.J., Madans, J. H. & Gentleman, J.F. (2011). Summary Health Statistics for the U.S Population: National Health Interview survey. 2010. Series 10, number 251.December. The US Census Bureau (2012). Los Angeles County, California. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/06037.html Appendix 1 Questionnaire 1 What are the main health concerns that the Hispanic Community in Los Angeles suffer from? 2 How strong is the community response in offering health services to the health needs among the Hispanic Communities? 3 What are main causes of gaps in health care provision to the Hispanic community in Los Angeles? 4 What is the level of importance for nursing in meeting health needs of the Hispanic community in Los Angeles? (Respondents who wished their names mentioned in the survey’s report were asked for consent, as was the case for Pablo Rodriguez whose views are included above) Read More