Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Healthy Changes or Change in Unhealthy Habit for Latino Immigrants?

Having worked in a hospital full time for over a year, (before I started university) I've always had interest in the hospital system in America. So I began to look at the current 'health' of Latino immigrants in America. I found some interesting sites, all of which I will post the links to, however it did make me think about wether or not Latino immigrants have the same rights to medical care as Americans, or if the American health care system actually provided any help atall to Latinos.
One website I found states that latino women are less likely to abuse drugs, however latino men who were born in America, (not in mexico) were more likely to have high rates of substance abuse, and 'Studies have found that Latino youth experience proportionately more anxiety-related and delinquency problem behaviors, depression, and drug use than do non-Hispanic white youth'.
This also goes onto say...'In 1990, about 40% of Hispanics either did not speak English at all or did not speak it well. While the percentage of Spanish-speaking mental health professionals is not known, only about 1% of licensed psychologists who are also members of the American Psychological Association identify themselves as Hispanic. Moreover, there are only 29 Hispanic mental health professionals for every 100,000 Hispanics in the United States, compared to 173 non-Hispanic white providers per 100,000.'
I find it interesting that Hispanics, despite making up a massive proportion of America, still, do not seem have access to appropriate medical care. The substance abuse in young latinos, suggests that there is not the appropriate lessons in school to teach about the dangers of drugs. (have a read of all the facts they are quite interesting)

http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre/fact3.asp

Another website I found from washingtonpost.com talks about latinos adopting America's bad habits. Latinos appear to be getting fatter, especially latino children, who traditionally, if fat, were seen as healthy and called 'gordo' or 'gordita' meaning fatty. it also says 'One of the ironies of emigrating from poor rural life in Central America to poor urban and suburban life in an area such as Washington is that it doesn't necessarily make you any healthier -- it just changes the ways in which you are unhealthy, according to health-care providers and immigrant families here.
Instead of weeding fields and walking long distances, which make you burn too many calories, you vacuum floors and take buses, which make you tired and lazy. Instead of cooking rice and beans, which lack many vitamins, you stop off for pizza and fries, which have too much fat. Instead of catching tropical infections, you are at greater risk of developing diabetes and heart disease.
You have acquired the habits of the promised land, and they are slowly killing you.'
To me this suggests a severe lack of education when it comes to teaching immigrant latinos about unhealthy lifestyles.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080402002.html?hpid=sec-health&sub=AR

Another website suggests that latino healthcare is declining rapdily, with many latinos not able to recieve the healthcare they need, especially concerning diabetes which is on the rise in latinos.

http://www.fresno.ucsf.edu/latinocenter/research/Latino%20health%20care%20is%20being%20left%20behind.htm

The final website I found which is interesting is a website documenting culture bound syndromes, and it has a list for Latino Americans, which no doubt, wont be treated within the American Healthcare system.
http://homepage.mac.com/mccajor/cbs_cul.html#LAx

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