Essay on USA Immigrant Culture

USA immigrant demographic belongs to a culture where their expectations of medical care are different from individuals born in the USA. This is because most immigrants like the Somalis have gone through civil war back in their country thus inadequate medical systems compared to US citizens who have a stable system of government thus improved health care (Valdez & de Posada, 2006). The majority of USA immigrants are from developing countries which have weak health care systems compared to the USA, this gives the immigrants different expectations to how the view the system compared to individuals born in USA (Valdez & de Posada, 2006). The laws of the land is also a major factor to why USA immigrants got different expectations to medical care since in most cases USA citizens are given priority when it comes to health care (Simich, 2009). Neglect & isolation also arise when it comes to USA immigrants seeking medical care.

USA government should put in place preventive programs when it comes to the provision of medical care to the immigrant population. These measures include affordability of medical since the majority of immigrants rely on affordable health care. The government should also provide public health insurance to immigrants thus reducing their cost of medical care. Provide education to immigrants concerning care and coverage options available for immigrants.

The linguistic barrier is a major obstacle when it comes to creating preventive health care programs for the immigrant population (Pavlish, Noor & Brandt, 2010). This is because language barrier leads to a breakdown in communication thus the immigrants cannot acquire proficient health care due to poor diagnosis and lack of information. Most immigrants have different health beliefs; this may lead to them not disclosing all the information required due to their culture & traditional beliefs (Singleton & Krause, 2009).

In solving these linguistic challenges, the government must do an outreach and public education on health care. This provides medical care awareness to the immigrants. Provision of training in medical fields to immigrants also enhances medical outreach. Volunteer interpreters should also be offered adequate training and facilitation.

Reference

Valdez, J., & de Posada, D. R. G. (2006). Strategies for Improving Latino Healthcare in America. The Latino Coalition.

Simich, L. (2009). Health literacy and immigrant populations. Policy brief prepared at the request of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa. Submitted March 30, 2009.

Pavlish, C. L., Noor, S., & Brandt, J. (2010). Somali immigrant women and the American health care system: discordant beliefs, divergent expectations, and silent worries. Social science & medicine, 71(2), 353-361.

Singleton, K., & Krause, E. (2009). Understanding cultural and linguistic barriers to health literacy. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 14(3).