Americans of African descents were people whose cultural heritage had been destroyed by slavery and that African Americans were not a distinctive cultural group. In The Politics of the Black “Nation” written by Matthew Holden Jr, describes culture by saying “Since culture is behavior learned in cohorts, it follows that when two groups ae separated by legal or behavioral frontiers over any significant time, some tendency toward cultural difference must develop…., and if they coexist within the same linguistic, economic, or political system, they must develop significant commonalities.” Holden’s definition helps calls attention to the facts that blacks are culturally American and share these commonalities with whites.
The concern with African American culture is the shared values, beliefs, rituals, myths and behaviors that constitute the meanings of a way of life. Attributes that constitute elements of black culture is marked by a deep historical consciousness and “long memory” of slavery and racial oppression, hence the degree of hostility and wariness towards whites and suspiciousness about their motives by the way they interact with blacks (Smith, 2014). Another element is the rituals of the culture though music, dance and oratory which was rooted in African heritage and culture.
Lastly cynicism, suspiciousness and alienation which derived from the history of oppression, in which one’s life chances are manipulated by others. Cynicism gives the sense of always needing to be aware of the possibility of betrayal with whites and their own race stemmed from slave revolts were betrayed by other slaves thus raising suspicious of the motives of the other blacks as well with whites (Smith, 2014).
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African Americans attitudes are not necessarily patriarchal, they believe that either the mother or father can take the role of the decision maker, placing a strong emphasis on showing respect to their elders and authority figures. Having deep beliefs in fatalism, having a spiritual imbalance can be viewed as a physical, mental, acute or chronic disease. Elder African American seek treatment from old wise tales, such as home remedies, prayer and being closely knitted with family and extended family seek medical advice from them.
Practicing Christianity began during slavery and is strongly influenced in the African American community today. Many African Americans experience healthcare disparities that result in limited access to healthcare, the underutilization of healthcare services, quality of care received, and having inadequate health insurance coverage (O’ Rourke & McDowell, 2018). Trust grows from respect and familiarity, in which African Americans lack in, they are compliant with healthcare services when they trust the provider.
The history of African Americans began in Virginia in 1619 and by 1790 made up nearly one-fifth of the population of the United States. As of July 2019, African Americans represent approximately 13.4 percent of the United states population. Majority of the African American population is foreign born, immigrants of African descent, migrating from the Caribbean, with Jamaica and Haiti being the largest. The U.S. Census Bureau defines African Americans as any person who “has origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa”.
The Department of Health and Human Services launched a program in December 2010, to promote health and the prevention of diseases called Healthy People 2020. According to healthypeople.gov, this program has four overarching goals which are first to achieve healthy, longer lives free of preventable diseases, injuries, and premature deaths; to achieve health fairness, eliminate differences, and improve all groups’ health; also to produce social and physical environments that encourage good health; and lastly to promote life’s quality, healthy development, and healthy behaviors through all life stages.
Leading health indicators reflect major public health concerns and provides statistical information for each racial and ethnic group. For African Americans under the age of 65 years, 87.9 % compared to Asians at 92.6 % have medical insurance. Healthy People 2020 objective D-5.1 tasks people with diagnosed diabetes whose A1c value is greater than 9 %, the rate for African American only 24.3%, was 2.216 times the best group which were whites at 11%.
Objective HDS-12 adults with hypertension whose blood pressure is under control, for African American this rate was 41.5%; with a 10.2% difference from the best group. Healthy People 2020 objective IVP-29 tracks the homicide rate. There were 22.7 homicides per 100,000 people among African Americans, 21.0% difference with the best group rate. Objective IVP-1.1 founded on the Healthy People 2020 website, tracks the death rate for all injuries regardless of intent. Among the African American community, the rate was 79.9 injury deaths per 100,000 population; with 53.4 % difference from the best group rate.
Healthy People 2020 objective MHMD-1 tracks the suicide rate for the total population. There were 6.9% suicides per 100,000 people among African American community, with not much of a difference from the best group rate. Obesity was at 48.0 % among the African American population; more than 10.8% of the best group rate. Dental care was at 29.0% among the African American community; the best group rate was 20% higher. Education was estimated that only 78% of students graduated high school within four years of beginning ninth grade.
Adolescents using alcohol or illicit drugs was at 11.3 % among African American adolescents; 5.2% higher than the best group rate. Alcohol consumption classified as “binge drinking” for African American adults rated at 25.4%, coming in second from the best group rate. Adult cigarette smokers compared to adolescent in the African American community had a 10.2% difference between the age groups, and its rates were less than 1.1 times the best group rate. (Healthy People 2020, 2019).
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the top 10 leading causes of death in the African American community of all age groups are
- cardiovascular diseases,
- malignant neoplasms,
- Accidents (unintentional injuries),
- cerebrovascular diseases,
- diabetes mellitus,
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases,
- Assault (homicide),
- Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis,
- Alzheimer disease,
- Septicemia (CDC, 2019).
When it comes to culture, health, and healing, with my own person culture compared to other cultural norms, beliefs regarding health may not be the same on who I may encounter with. Having a better understanding and great communication skills can help overcome barriers and build a trusting relationship to achieve good outcomes.
