Kathleen Staffaroni
Dec 1, 2023Dec 1 at 4:50pm
There are many vulnerable populations in the United States in regard to health status. According to Shi & Signh (2023), “vulnerability denotes susceptibility to negative events that result in poor health or illness. Vulnerability is determined by a convergence of predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics” (p. 227). Two groups that experience vulnerability in this country are rural residents and the homeless population. “Homelessness is a more complex problem than the simple lack of a place to live. Homeless people (HP) often suffer from poor health and premature death due to their limited healthcare, and are deprived of basic human and social rights” (Artigas-Lelong et al., 2022, para.1). More than a quarter of the homeless population is made up of families with children. Additionally, “veterans account for approximately 8% of this population” (Shi & Singh, 2023, p. 235). Of course, a main concern for homeless individuals is the lack of a constant home, but the lack of health care, transportation, food, medication and medication safety, substance abuse, victimization, and environmental exposure are all additional stressors that contribute to the decreased life expectancy and quality of life for these individuals. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been particularly dangerous for the homeless population. “The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to increased unemployment, poverty, and vulnerability in many people and these could contribute to an increased number of HP” (Artigas-Lelong et al., 2022, para.3).
Rural residents in the United States are also vulnerable in many ways but specifically to health care access. Just as the homeless population experiences higher mortality and a shorter life expectancy, as does rural populations. Unfortunately, while rural geographic areas tend to have a higher need for health care services, they are experiencing a physician shortage at the same time. Even worse, not only is there a physician shortage, but many physicians are choosing to specialize now, so there are even less primary clinics available in these areas.
Racial/ethnic minorities in the United States include “Black or African American (13.4%), Hispanic or Latino (18.5%), Asian (5.9%), Native American Indian or Alaska Native (1.3%)” (Shi & Signh, 2023, p. 229). These minority groups may experience a barrier to health care access and poor quality of the care that they do receive even with consideration to a socioeconomic status that would not be considered vulnerable. When comparing these racial/ethnic minority groups with Caucasion Americans, there is an abundance of health challenges that Caucasian Americans may not endure in regard to quality, access and cost. For instance, Black Americans have shorter life expectancies than their caucasian counterparts. Black Americans report fair to poor health status more often than Caucasian Americans. “Among individuals age 18 years or older, a higher proportion of Hispanics than Whites are overweight or obese” (Shi & Singh, 2023, p.230).
Racial minorities whose first language is not English experience a disadvantage to health care access and quality simply due to the inability of the provider to effectively communicate with the patients. Additionally, in the realm of access, “Blacks, Latinos, American Indians, and some Asian groups generally have lower rates of cancer screening” (Fiscella & Sanders, 2016, p.380). Individual racism and implicit bias can affect minorities health care experience in a direct manner while receiving care, but equally important, it can make a profound impact on minority groups’ health care quality, access, and cost when it is interjected into a collective decision making circumstance such at the legislation level when implementing new policies or continuing unfair current policies.
There were a plethora of Bible verses that I could have chosen for this week’s content, but I would like to reference Proverbs 22:9 with “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor” (New International Version Bible, 2011). Enabling vulnerable communities to receive necessary health care is much like feeding a hungry person. Every human deserves to be blessed with basic necessities for living including food, water, shelter, and health care.
References
Artigas-Lelong, B., Bedmar, M. A., Bennasar‐Veny, Capitán-Moyano, L., Garcı́a-Toro, M., Mut, F. S., Pou, J. A., & Yáñez, A. M. (2022). Health and access to healthcare in homeless people. Medicine, 101(7), e28816. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000028816Links to an external site.
Fiscella, K., & Sanders, M. (2016). Racial and ethnic disparities in the quality of health care. Annual Review of Public Health, 37(1), 375–394. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032315-021439
New International Version Bible. (2011). Biblica.https://www.biblestudytools.com/proverbs/22-9.html
Shi, L. & Singh, D.A. (2023). Essentials of the U.S. Health Care System. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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