This article provides a solution essay to Barriers to Care for Hispanic Americans.
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Conduct an assessment of the health care environment where you work (i.e. health department, long-term care facility, specialty clinic, inpatient hospital, etc). Specifically, examine potential barriers that may exist for a member of a minority group that has a significant presence in your community (i.e. Native American, Cubans, Hmong). Using the criteria below (and explained in greater detail on pages 39 and 40), assess the potential organizational barriers to care in your work…
Solution
Barriers to Care for Hispanic Americans
Hispanic Americans are considered the largest minority group. They have a significant influence on the American economy and cultural diversity. By establishing frameworks to assess the healthcare needs and status of Hispanic Americans, better data will be attained to support the formulation and implementation of health policies. Hence, the need to have a comprehensive overview of the Hispanics’ organizational healthcare statistics, especially on health disparities, social health factors, and risk factors that are considered to be the notable causes of mortality and morbidity. Cancer, cardiovascular conditions, and unintentional injuries are the significant causes of mortality among Hispanics. The integration of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has improved access to health services among Hispanics; however, several challenges remain due to the shortage of Hispanic healthcare personnel, health literacy, and restricted cultural sensitivity in the clinical setting. These barriers hinder effective care delivery at an organizational level to Hispanic Americans and advance health disparities at a community level.
Affordability and Accessibility
Uninsured or underinsured and acculturation barriers are the main barriers to healthcare access. The HHS Office of minority health reports that Hispanics have the highest number of Hispanic adults without health care insurance (17.8%), with the population experiencing the lowest change in 2017-2018. Likewise, a comparable population has had limited healthcare treatment from a physician in the recent past. Aponte (2017) alleged that 80% of the Hispanic population obtain health information from mass media sources, such as radio and television. Even though Hispanics are considered as the fastest-growing and largest minority group, a negligible percentage of their population has comprehensive insurance cover (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2019). Lack of insurance makes accessibility and affordability among the main barriers hindering Hispanics from utilizing the organization’s facilities. By creating awareness on the importance of insurance plans and promoting engagement with healthcare facilities, the organization can improve its relations with the Hispanic population in our community.
Awareness
Besides, most Hispanics youths and adults are prone to chronic health diseases, for instance, diabetes or obesity compared to non-Hispanic whites. The high propensity of Hispanics to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, liver disease, or cancer exposes the health disparities that have obliged a few being enrolled in the ACA policy (Barnett, Gonzalez, Miranda, Chavira, & Lau, 2018). Social determinants such as occupation and socio-economic status have contributed to a high population of Hispanics being underinsured or uninsured. The high levels of diseases in the community underline the failure of the organization to promote healthy habits in social areas such as schools. As one of the significant challenges facing Hispanic youth in the community, the organization should establish a health awareness and promotion campaign, advocating for healthier lifestyles and regular body checks.
Approachability, Attitudes and Practices
Hispanic are the leading population among the minorities with the lowest visits to the facility. The data correlates with national data by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanic Americans are three times and twice likely to require regular health services compared to non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks, respectively (Betancourt et al., 2016). Among other factors, the approachability of the organization is a barrier that keeps some Hispanics off the facility. According to Velasco-Mondragon, Jimenez, Palladino-Davis, Davis & Escamilla-Cejudo (2016), the population of Hispanic health personnel does not replicate the total number of American Hispanics. Historically, Hispanic medics have been underrepresented in the American health sector, primarily licensed registered nurses, physician assistants, dentists, physicians, and pharmacists. Within the facility, the number of Hispanic personnel is low, despite the high population of Hispanics in the community. Lack of sufficient Hispanic staff not only affects the approachability of the organization but also creates poor attitudes towards health-related activity by the organization in the community. Hispanic practitioners can guide and effect culturally sensitive care, which is responsive to the attitudes, feelings and circumstances of the Hispanic community.
Appropriateness and Availability
A considerable population of Hispanics was pleased with the quality of health services offered by the organization in the past year. However, some cite the challenges of poor health services that could have been influenced by their English accent, ethnicity, or financial constraints. The findings highlight that the organization has failed to adapt to meet the needs of its community such as language, which remains a significant barrier. Practices by practitioners of implicit bias may also be contributing to the disconnect between the facility and its community. These attributes put to test the availability of the organization to meet the needs of the population and the appropriateness of health practitioners within the facility to meet the needs of the Hispanics within our community.
Recommendations
Adopt an inclusive organizational health policy
Organizations should endorse comprehensive health policies that provide an effective strategy for addressing health inequalities (Velasco-Mondragon et al., 2016). The all-inclusive policy approach will focus on health care, social community framework, education, and economic stability. The healthcare policy will be used to reach out to Hispanic populations in the community through social influences in a bid to improve attitudes, approachability and awareness.
Advocate for Cultural Sensitivity
Increase cultural sensitivity among health professionals. This includes basic language training, identifying cues for implicit bias, and on-going training on how to improve interactions by being culturally sensitive (Barnett et al., 2016). The training will ensure that more physicians understand how to meet and address the needs of the community population. Hispanic Healthcare personnel should also be brought in to help improve cultural sensitivity and deliver more patient-centered care.
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Disseminate and generate knowledge
New research models should be integrated to utilize multilevel corporate implementation practices and models that incorporate risk factors and health inequalities to moderate epidemiologic Hispanics models in society (Aponte, 2017). Interpreting research outcomes into practice should prioritize multidisciplinary partnerships between the Hispanic community, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies.
References
Aponte, J. (2017). Health disparities and Hispanics. Hispanic Health Care International, 15(2), 51-51. doi: 10.1177/1540415317708513
Barnett, M. L., Gonzalez, A., Miranda, J., Chavira, D. A., & Lau, A. S. (2018). Mobilizing community health workers to address mental health disparities for underserved populations: A systematic review. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 45(2), 195-211.
Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, I. I. (2016). Defining cultural competence: a practical framework for addressing racial/ethnic disparities in health and health care. Public health reports.
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2019). Key facts about the uninsured population.
Purnell, L. (2013). Transcultural health care: A culturally competent approach (4th ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.
Velasco-Mondragon, E., Jimenez, A., Palladino-Davis, A., Davis, D., & Escamilla-Cejudo, J. (2016). Hispanic health in the USA: A scoping review of the literature. Public Health Reviews, 37(1). doi: 10.1186/s40985-016-0043-2
Question
Conduct an assessment of the health care environment where you work (i.e. health department, long-term care facility, specialty clinic, inpatient hospital, etc). Specifically, examine potential barriers that may exist for a member of a minority group that has a significant presence in your community (i.e. Native American, Cubans, Hmong). Using the criteria below (and explained in greater detail on pages 39 and 40), assess the potential organizational barriers to care in your work environment. Explore ways to decrease barriers to health care for this minority group so that your organization can strive for cultural competency. Write a 3-4 page APA essay, using two scholarly sources in addition to the textbook.
- Availability
- Accessibility
- Affordability
- Appropriateness
- Accountability
- Adaptability
- Acceptability
- Awareness
- Attitudes
- Approachability
- Alternative practices and practitioners
- Additional services
The text book that needs to be referenced is:
Purnell, L.D. (2013). Transcultural health care: A culturally competent approach (4th ed.). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.