Current Health Status of the Hispanics in the United States

Health status refers to the overall health of an individual or group of people in a particular area compared to national data (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2016). It examines factors such as disability, life expectancy, and disease risk factors. The current health status of the Hispanics is as follows. The overall health of Hispanics (good or bad) is at 9.6%.The leading causes of death among the Hispanics are cancer and heart diseases. About 2out of 5 deaths among the Hispanics result from these conditions. Additionally, most Hispanics are uninsured as they are three times less likely to be insured when they are compared to the whites. The number of Hispanics without health insurance below the ages of 65 years is estimated at 25.5%. The health risks of Hispanics compared to the whites include 23% more obesity, 49 % less cancer, 35% heart diseases, poorly controlled blood pressure by 24 percent, and a diabetes death rate of about 50%. The smoking rate is also about 6.5% and 15.8 in men and women (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

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How is Health Promotion Defined by the Group?

Health promotion among Hispanics is defined as empowering the population to improve and increase control over their health. The programs aims at making the people develop the ability to be aware and detect the prevalent diseases among them. Helping Hispanic quite smoking is one of the key focus areas of health promotion as it is one of the predisposing factors for the heart diseases. Additionally, provision of health literacy through informing the population on the importance of exercising that is aimed at promoting the physical health of the community is a major focus area of health promotion as part of the population is obese. Exercising helps the community in keeping physically fit and thus acts as a preventive measure against diseases. Besides, education on increasing health coverage through insurance is primary in improving access to health services among this group of people. Moreover, providing information on the importance of keeping a healthy diet among Hispanics is a central focus of health promotion as it helps in reducing levels of obesity which emanate from poor dieting among many Hispanics (Stanford University, n.d).

What Health Disparities Exist for this Group?

The following are the health disparities that exist among the Hispanics. In adults, the Hispanics are six times likely to have tuberculosis, two times likely to have asthma, have a 15% propensity of liver diseases, 15% obesity, 65% diabetes, 45% cervical cancer, and 2.5 likely to contract and die from HIV. Health disparities in children include 30 times infant mortality, 60% depression, 35% obesity, and two times more likely to have asthma (Families USA, 2016).

Describe of Behavior Change Approach Using the Three Levels of Health Promotion Prevention as the Most Effective in Meeting the Needs of the Hispanics

The approach that will be efficient in meeting the needs of the Hispanic community is the behavior change approach. The approach perceives an individual as a primary determinant of their health. The approach thus encourages individuals to adopt healthy styles of living so as to ensure that they have good health and are free from diseases. The approach employs the following methods in health promotion prevention: persuasion or motivation, communication, and education. The approach is expert-led and evaluation f its effectiveness is aimed at examining the change of behavior after carrying out the intervention (Info Sihat, n.d). At primary level, the people will be educated on adopting healthy lifestyles so as to prevent disease. Teaching on the importance of exercise, avoiding smoking, and purchasing health insurance will be ideal. Using this approach at the secondary level will involve encouraging those individuals that are obese to exercise, the sick to visit hospitals for treatment of disease, and discouraging unhealthy behavior. At the tertiary level, actions such as rehabilitating the addicts and forming support group will help in mitigating the impact of the disease on the population.

An Explanation of why they Might be the Most Effective Choice

The behavior change approach is the most efficient in health promotion prevention as the Hispanic population needs to be aware of how the various life choices are affecting their health. Also, this community needs to be aware of how they can make sure they improve their health through the different behavioral changes they will make (Institute for Work and Health, 2015). The predisposing factors of most of the diseases that are prevalent among this population emanate from poor eating habits and unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking and drinking of alcohol. Therefore, providing awareness and encouraging the adopting behavior change will be essential in helping the Hispanics improve and increase control over their health.

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2016).

Health status. Retrieved from http://www.aihw.gov.au/male-health/health-status/Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016).

Health of Hispanic or Latino population. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hispanic-health.htmFamilies USA. (2014).

Latinos health disparities compared to non-Hispanic whites. Retrieved from http://familiesusa.org/product/latino-health-disparities-compared-non-hispanic-whitesInfo Sihat. N.d. Approaches to health promotion. Retrieved from http://www.infosihat.gov.my/infosihat/artikelHP/bahanrujukan/HEam/Approaches%20to%20Health%20Promotion.pdfInstitute for Work and Health. (2015).

What researchers mean by... primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. Retrieved from https://www.iwh.on.ca/wrmb/primary-secondary-and-tertiary-preventionStanford University. N.d. Health and health care of Hispanic/Latino American elders. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/hispaniclatino.html