African Immigrant Health: The Health Promotion Beliefs of Zimbabwean Immigrants in the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara M. Gona ◽  
Ruth Palan-Lopez ◽  
Lisa Wood ◽  
Rosalia S. Gotora ◽  
Philimon N. Gona
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Immigrant Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
African Immigrant Health

scholarly journals Understanding the healthcare experiences and needs of African immigrants in the United States: a scoping review

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogbonnaya I. Omenka ◽  
Dennis P. Watson ◽  
Hugh C. Hendrie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Immigrant Health ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Healthcare Experiences ◽  
African Immigrant Health ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Background Africans immigrants in the United States are the least-studied immigrant group, despite the research and policy efforts to address health disparities within immigrant communities. Although their healthcare experiences and needs are unique, they are often included in the “black” category, along with other phenotypically-similar groups. This process makes utilizing research data to make critical healthcare decisions specifically targeting African immigrants, difficult. The purpose of this Scoping Review was to examine extant information about African immigrant health in the U.S., in order to develop lines of inquiry using the identified knowledge-gaps. Methods Literature published in the English language between 1980 and 2016 were reviewed in five stages: (1) identification of the question and (b) relevant studies, (c) screening, (d) data extraction and synthesis, and (e) results. Databases used included EBSCO, ProQuest, PubMed, and Google Scholar (hand-search). The articles were reviewed according to title and abstract, and studies deemed relevant were reviewed as full-text articles. Data was extracted from the selected articles using the inductive approach, which was based on the comprehensive reading and interpretive analysis of the organically emerging themes. Finally, the results from the selected articles were presented in a narrative format. Results Culture, religion, and spirituality were identified as intertwined key contributors to the healthcare experiences of African immigrants. In addition, lack of culturally-competent healthcare, distrust, and complexity, of the U.S. health system, and the exorbitant cost of care, were identified as major healthcare access barriers. Conclusion Knowledge about African immigrant health in the U.S. is scarce, with available literature mainly focusing on databases, which make it difficult to identify African immigrants. To our knowledge, this is the first Scoping Review pertaining to the healthcare experiences and needs of African immigrants in the U.S.

scholarly journals Understanding the Healthcare Experiences and Needs of African Immigrants in the United States: A Scoping Review

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ogbonnaya Isaac Omenka ◽  
Dennis P. Watson ◽  
Hugh C. Hendrie
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Immigrant Health ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cost Of Care ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
Healthcare Experiences ◽  
African Immigrant Health ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Background: Africans immigrants in the United States are the least-studied immigrant group, despite the research and policy efforts to address health disparities within immigrant communities. Although their healthcare experiences and needs are unique, they are often included in the “black” category, along with other phenotypically-similar groups. This process makes utilizing research data to make critical healthcare decisions specifically targeting African immigrants, difficult. The purpose of this Scoping Review was to examine extant information about African immigrant health in the U.S., in order to develop lines of inquiry using the identified knowledge-gaps. Methods: Literature published in the English language between 1980 and 2016 were reviewed in five stages: (1) identification of the question and (b) relevant studies, (c) screening, (d) data extraction and synthesis, and (e) results. Databases used included EBSCO, ProQuest, PubMed, and Google Scholar (hand-search). The articles were reviewed according to title and abstract, and studies deemed relevant were reviewed as full-text articles. Data was extracted from the selected articles using the inductive approach, which was based on the comprehensive reading and interpretive analysis of the organically emerging themes. Finally, the results from the selected articles were presented in a narrative format. Results: Culture, religion, and spirituality were identified as intertwined key contributors to the healthcare experiences of African immigrants. In addition, lack of culturally-competent healthcare, distrust, and complexity, of the U.S. health system, and the exorbitant cost of care, were identified as major healthcare access barriers. Conclusion: Knowledge about African immigrant health in the U.S. is scarce, with available literature mainly focusing on databases, which make it difficult to identify African immigrants. To our knowledge, this is the first Scoping Review pertaining to the healthcare experiences and needs of African immigrants in the U.S.

scholarly journals Discrimination Is Associated with Elevated Cardiovascular Disease Risk among African Immigrants in the African Immigrant Health Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-660
Author(s):  
Ruth-Alma N. Turkson-Ocran ◽  
Sarah L. Szanton ◽  
Lisa A. Cooper ◽  
Sherita H. Golden ◽  
Rexford S. Ahima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Immigrant Health ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Cvd Risk Factors ◽  
Cvd Risk ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
African Immigrant Health

Background: African Americans and other persons of African descent in the United States are disproportionately affected by cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Discrimi­nation is associated with higher CVD risk among US adults; however, this relationship is unknown among African immigrants.Objective: To examine the associations among discrimination, resilience, and CVD risk in African immigrants.Methods: The African Immigrant Health Study was a cross-sectional study of African immigrants in Baltimore-Washington, DC, with recruitment and data collection taking place between June 2017 and April 2019. The main outcome was elevated CVD risk, the presence of ≥3 CVD risk factors includ­ing hypertension, diabetes, high choles­terol, overweight/obesity, tobacco use, and poor diet. The secondary outcomes were these six individual CVD risk factors. The exposure was discrimination measured with the Everyday Discrimination Scale; summed scores ≥2 on each item indicated frequent experiences of discrimination. Resilience was assessed with the 10-item Connor- Davidson resilience scale. Logistic regression was used to examine the odds of elevated CVD risk, adjusting for relevant covariates.Results: We included 342 participants; 61% were females. The mean (±SD) age was 47(±11) years, 61% had at least a bachelor’s degree, 18% had an income <$40,000, and 49% had lived in the US ≥15 years. Persons with frequent experi­ences of discrimination were 1.82 times (95%CI: 1.04–3.21) more likely to have elevated CVD risk than those with fewer experiences. Resilience did not moderate the relationship between CVD risk and discrimination.Conclusion: African immigrants with frequent experiences of discrimination were more likely to have elevated CVD risk. Tar­geted and culturally appropriate interven­tions are needed to reduce the high burden of CVD risk in this population. Health care providers should be aware of discrimina­tion as a meaningful social determinant of CVD risk. At the societal level, policies and laws are needed to reduce the occurrence of discrimination among African immi­grants and racial/ethnic minorities. Ethn Dis. 2020;30(4):651-660;doi:10.18865/ed.30.4.651

scholarly journals Toward a Culture of Health in the United States: Introducing the HPP Arts in Public Health Supplement

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 5S-7S
Author(s):  
Jill Sonke ◽  
Lourdes Rodríguez ◽  
Melissa A. Valerio-Shewmaker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Agents Of Change ◽  
The University ◽  
Critical Public Health ◽  
Health Promotion Practice

The arts—and the arts and culture sector—offer fertile ground for achieving a culture of health in the United States. The arts and artists are agents of change and can help enable this vision and also address the most critical public health issues we are contending with, including COVID-19 and racism. The arts provide means for engaging dialogue, influencing behaviors, disrupting paradigms and fueling social movements. The arts uncover and illuminate issues. They engage us emotionally and intellectually. They challenge assumptions. They call out injustice. They drive collective action. They heal—making arts + public health collaboration very relevant in this historic moment. In this special Health Promotion Practice supplement on arts in public health, you’ll find powerful examples and evidence of how cross-sector collaboration between public health and the arts can advance health promotion goals and impacts, and make health promotion programs not only more accessible to diverse populations but also more equitable and effective in addressing the upstream systems, policies, and structures that create health disparities. You will see how the arts can empower health communication, support health literacy, provide direct and measurable health benefits to individuals and communities, and support coping and resilience in response to COVID-19. This issue itself exemplifies cross-sector collaboration, as it was created through partnership between Health Promotion Practice, the Society for Public Health Education, ArtPlace America, and the University of Florida Center for Arts in Medicine, and presents voices from across the public health, arts, and community development sectors.

scholarly journals Longer Residence in the United States is Associated With More Physical Function Limitations in African Immigrant Older Adults

2020 ◽  
pp. 073346482097760
Author(s):  
Manka Nkimbeng ◽  
Yvonne Commodore-Mensah ◽  
Jacqueline L. Angel ◽  
Karen Bandeen-Roche ◽  
Roland J. Thorpe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Physical Function ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
African Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
African Immigrant ◽  
High Discrimination ◽  
The Mean

Acculturation and racial discrimination have been independently associated with physical function limitations in immigrant and United States (U.S.)-born populations. This study examined the relationships among acculturation, racial discrimination, and physical function limitations in N = 165 African immigrant older adults using multiple linear regression. The mean age was 62 years ( SD = 8 years), and 61% were female. Older adults who resided in the United States for 10 years or more had more physical function limitations compared with those who resided here for less than 10 years ( b = −2.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [–5.01, –0.23]). Compared to lower discrimination, those with high discrimination had more physical function limitations ( b = −2.51, 95% CI = [–4.91, –0.17]), but this was no longer significant after controlling for length of residence and acculturation strategy. Residing in the United States for more than 10 years is associated with poorer physical function. Longitudinal studies with large, diverse samples of African immigrants are needed to confirm these associations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document