Describe health problems of the White non-Hispanic populations.
Madonna Della Cava.
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is an example of one of the saints for whom there is a summer festival. The prayers offered to her include prayers for health. Note the gold and money that has been pinned on the statue’s clothes and decorations.
The father traditionally has been the head of the Italian household, and the mother is said to be the heart of the household.
Italian Americans have tended to attain low levels of education in the United States, but their incomes are comparable to or higher than those of other groups.
The Italian population falls into four generational groups: (1) the elderly, living in Italian enclaves; (2) a second generation, living both within the neigh- borhoods and in the suburbs; (3) a younger, well-educated group, living mainly in the suburbs; and (4) new immigrants (Ragucci, 1981, p. 216). More than 80% of Italian Americans marry people from a different ethnic group (Giordano & McGoldrick, 1996).
HEALTH and ILLNESS
Italians tend to present their symptoms to their fullest point and to expect immediate treatment for ailments. In terms of traditional beliefs, they may view the cause of illness to be one of the following: (1) winds and currents that bear diseases, (2) contagion or contamination, (3) heredity, (4) supernatural or human causes, and (5) psychosomatic interactions.
One such traditional Italian belief contends that moving air, in the form of drafts, causes irritation and then a cold that can lead to pneumonia. A belief an elderly person may express in terms of cancer surgery is that it is not a good idea to have surgery because surgery exposes the inner body to the air, and if the cancer is exposed to the air the person is going to die quicker. Just as drafts are considered to be a cause of illness, fresh air is considered to be vital for the maintenance of health. Homes and the workplace must be well ventilated to prevent illness from occurring.
One sees a belief in contamination manifested in the reluctance of people to share food and objects with people who are considered unclean, and often in not entering the homes of those who are ill. Traditional Italian women have a strong sense of modesty and shame, resulting in an avoidance of discussions relating to sex and menstruation.
Blood is regarded by some, especially the elderly, to be a “plastic en- tity” that responds to fluids and food and is responsible for many variable conditions. Various adjectives, such as high and low and good and bad, are used to describe blood. Some of the “old superstitions” include the follow- ing beliefs: