HEALTH and ILLNESS:Discuss the demographic profile of selected communities of the Hispanic populations.
in the Hispanic Populations
My heart is in the earth . . .
—Greenhaw (2000)
■ Objectives
1. Discuss the background of members of selected communities of the Hispanic populations.
2. Discuss the demographic profile of selected communities of the Hispanic populations.
3. Describe the traditional definitions of HEALTH and ILLNESS of selected com- munities of the Hispanic populations.
4. Describe the traditional methods of HEALTH maintenance and protection of selected communities of the Hispanic populations.
5. Describe the traditional methods of HEALING of selected communities of the Hispanic populations.
6. Describe current health care problems of the Hispanic populations.
7. Describe demographic disparity as it is seen in the health manpower distribution of the Hispanic populations as represented in the health care delivery system.
Figure 12–4Figure 12–3Figure 12–2Figure 12–1
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The opening images for this chapter depict a place and objects symbolic of items used to maintain, protect, and/or restore HEALTH for people in the Hispanic communities. Figure 12–1 is a fruit stand where tropical fruits such as papayas are sold—part of a balanced diet for health maintenance. Figure 12–2 is an “eye” from Cuba. This ceramic eye can be hung in the home for protection and would be seen as an object that would protect the family members from the harm that could be caused by jealous neighbors. Figure 12–3 is a box that contains an herbal preparation to treat a kidney malady. It can be purchased in a grocery store or botanica. Figure 12–4 is a crutch, or milagro, that could be brought to a church and placed on a statue of a saint, usually Saint Lazarus.
■ Background The largest emerging majority group in the United States is composed of the Hispanic or Latino populations. According to the 2010 Census, of the 308.7 million people who resided in the United States on April 1, 2010, 50.5 million—16%—were of Hispanic or Latino origin. The Hispanic popula- tion was 13% of the total population in 2000. In fact, more than half of the growth in the total population of the United States between 2000 and 2010 was due to the increase in the Hispanic population. About three-quarters of Hispanics reported as Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban origin. More than three-quarters of the Hispanic population lived in the West or South; 41% of Hispanics lived in the West and 36% lived in the South. The Northeast and Midwest accounted for 14% and 9%, respectively, of the Hispanic population.
The terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably in Census 2010 and refer to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American,or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race (Ennis, Rios- Vargas, & Albert, 2011, p. 2). The term will be used accordingly in this chap- ter. Figure 12–5 and Table 12–1 display the population distribution in 2010. They are the youngest population group with a mean age of 27.2 years.
63%
7.90%
5.50%
24.30% Mexico
Central America
South America
Other Hispanic
Figure 12–5 Origins of the Hispanic populations: 2010. Source: Ennis, S. R., Rios-Vargas, M., & Albert, N. G. (2011). The Hispanic population: 2010. Retrieved from http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/, December 4, 2011, p. 3.
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Other relevant demographic data include:
■ Hispanics are more geographically concentrated than non-Hispanic Whites, with 27.8% of the population living in California, 18.7% living in Texas, 8.4% in Florida, and 6.8% in Florida (Ennis, Rios-Vargas, & Albert, 2011, p. 7).
■ Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to be less than 18 years old, as 34.4% of Hispanics are younger than 5 and 22.8% of the non-Hispanic White population are younger than 5.
■ Of the 1,042,625 persons who became Legal Permanent Residents in 2010, 13.3% were from Mexico, 3.2% from Cuba, 2.1% from Columbia, and 1.8% from El Salvador (Monger & Yankay, 2011, p. 4).
■ Of the 619,913 persons naturalizing in 2010, 10.8% were from Mexico, 3.0% from Colombia, 2.5% from the Dominican Republic, 2.3% from Cuba, and 1.7% from El Salvador (Lee, 2011, p. 2).
■ Hispanics were more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to live in poverty—25.3% of the Hispanic population and 9.4% of the White alone population (DeNavas-Walt, Procter, & Smith, 2010, p. 15).
■ Between 2008 and 2009, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (from 8.6% to 9.4%), and for Hispanics (from 23.2% to 25.3%) (DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, & Smith, 2010, p. 5).
■ The total percentage of Hispanic people over 25 who graduated from high school in 2010 was 62.9 and 13.9% graduated from college (U. S. Census Bureau, 2011, p. 151).
This section has presented a descriptive overview of the Hispanic popula- tions as a whole; the next 2 sections describe the Mexican, or Mesoamerican, population and the Puerto Rican groups. The term Mesoamerican is inclusive in that it describes peoples with Mexican and Central and South American origins
Table 12–1 Percent Distribution of the Hispanic Population by Type of Origin: 2010
Central American 70.9% Mexican 63.0% South American 5.5% Caribbean 15.5% Cuban 3.5% Dominican 2.8% Puerto Rican 9.2% All other Hispanic 8.1%
Source: Ennis, S. R., Rios-Vargas, M., & Albert, N. G. (2011). The Hispanic population: 2010. Retrieved from http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/, December 4, 2011, p. 4.
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(Carmack, Gasco, & Gossen, 1996, p. xvii). There is much confusion as to what their proper name is and, for the purposes of this chapter, overall government designations of Hispanic or Latino will be used for the aggregate populations and Spanish or Iberian origins and Mexican or Mesoamerican to refer to people who have a history and origins south of the United States/Mexico border.
■ Mexicans The United States shares a 2,000-mile-long border with Mexico, which, in spite of walls and tightened security, remains easily crossed in both directions. The flow of people, goods, and ideas across it has a powerful impact on both countries.
Figure 12–6 is the fence, or wall, as it appears in Nogales, Arizona. It is an enormous structure that will eventually hug all 2,000 miles of the U.S./Mexico border. Here, you can see that it abuts the yards of families residing on the Mexican side of the border. The United States federal government is planning to complete building a wall such as this across the entire 2,000 miles of the United States/Mexico border.
Americans of Hispanic origin, according to the 2010 census, numbered at least 308.7 million people; of this number, 63.0% were of Mexican origin (Ennis, Rios-Vargas, & Albert, 2011, p. 3). The Mexicans have been in the United States for a long time, moving from Mexico and later intermarrying with Indians and Spanish people in the southwestern parts of what is now the United States. Santa Fe, New Mexico, was settled in 1609. Most of the
Figure 12–6 The fence along the United States/Mexico border; Mexico is on the right side.