PEN-3 Model Of Cultural Empowerment

To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there

Mexican-American culture has been characterized as a family-focused, community-oriented culture. Even second and third-generation Mexican-Americans place a higher value upon their relationships with others versus personal autonomy, in contrast with the dominant values of the United States. Living in extended family situations, or being influenced by extended family is much more common in Mexican culture than in other cultures. The core values of Mexican culture are said to be "familismo, personalismo, and respeto. Familismo involves placing the family ahead of individual interests, living near extended family, making collective decisions that involve one or more members of the family, and feeling responsible for and obligated to the family...Personalismo involves the building and valuing of interpersonal relationships...Respeto refers to the high regard for family and community members, especially for authority figures and the elderly" (Neff, Brabeck, Kearney 2006).

Various regions of the world have different responses to the issue of obesity. Some cultures view obesity as necessary and attractive while others are taking drastic measures in an attempt to promote a healthy lifestyle. Although some of these drastic changes seem a bit invasive and controversial, policy makers are debating whether it is effective and even whether or not such a policy should be adopted in the United States. According to the article written by Gallagher, a culture sensitive approach should be implemented in order to tackle the issue of global obesity. A study of children of Mexican descent showed that about 32.6% of Mexican children occupying the U.S. are overweight and about 19.2% are obese (Gallagher 2010). The parents observed in this study were serving their children unhealthy foods, such as those from cans and fast food restaurants, due to price and convenience (Gallagher 2010).

The Hispanic cultures view on obesity or having a fuller and heavier child differs from an American’s perspective. Like many cultures around the world, hefty version of themselves is a sign of wealth and opulence. This belief is passed down to their children. Hispanic and Latino mothers believe a heavier child is a good idea and it shows healthy development. “Culture can influence the perception of risk associated with obesity. Studies of Latinos have found that many mothers of obese children believe their child to be healthy and are unconcerned about their child's weight, although these same parents are likely to believe that obese children in general should be taken to a nutritionist or physician for help with weight reduction.” (Caprio

Adler, N. E., & Stewart, J. (2009). Reducing Obesity: Motivating Action While Not Blaming the Victim. Milbank Quarterly, 87(1), 49-70. doi:10.1111/j.1468- 0009.2009.00547.x

outcome of obesity in this community, there needs to be a sufficient understand of Hispanic

Public health workers from all spectrums can assist in proposed legislation and policies favoring the Latino community as well as increasing efforts for lifestyle changes leading to r4ducing risk factor such as obesity, hypertension and dietary choices. Public health programs will also look to create more strategies and interventions that promote, prolong and encourage a healthier lifestyle while living on a strained budget. In essence, acculturation and cultural lifestyle contributes to higher rates of diabetes among the Latino community.

Iannotta, Joah G. Emerging Issues in Hispanic Health: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2002. Print.

The medical conditions associated with Latinos include diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Diabetes is a large problem for Latino communities: it affects them almost double the amount that it does non-Hispanic whites (Rodriguez, 2013). Although there is no cure for diabetes, it can be treated and controlled. A large problem with this is that 25% of Latina women do not believe there is a problem with their weight and see being overweight as “normal” while only 15% of non-Latino white women (Rodriguez, 2013). This creates an idea that since there is no problem, there is nothing to fix; Latinos believe they do not have to visit a healthcare professional to either test for diabetes or to treat it if they are aware they have the condition.

The United States is a melting pot of racial and ethnic cultures, whose health status, amongst minority groups varies due to the influence of socioeconomic status and educational background. This falls true within the Hispanic community where it is important to receive culturally competent care among the diverse populations to help increase health promotion and gain a cultural perspective on the promotion of health within the culture. There are complex and connected causes of the health disparities within the Hispanic community that are all contributing factors to the current health status. Health Status The Hispanic population, and especially in the number of Hispanic youth is rapidly growing.

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group and there are estimated to be about 54 million living in the United States (Office of Minority Health & Health Equity, YEAR). The Hispanics are a minority group that struggle every day to survive, to provide for their families, to stay healthy and to live quality lives. This paper will discuss the Hispanics current health status, how health promotion is defined by the Hispanics and what health disparities exist for the Hispanics. Lastly, this paper will discuss the three levels of health prevention and their effectiveness given the unique

I gained knowledge about my community while working on community health nursing task. Tulare County is an agricultural community, in which the majority of the population is Hispanic and White. Within Tulare County there are many smaller communities, each with their own different health risks. After surveying and statistical reach, I concluded that there are many health risk factors affecting my community; one of the biggest health risks affecting this populating is obesity.

There are many health disparities that exist among the Hispanic population. Many of these are chronic conditions that affect the population. Obesity is one of the many examples of conditions that have increased for the Hispanic population. The CDC (2014) states, “The prevalence of obesity among female Mexican American adults during 2007–2010 was larger than the prevalence among female white, non-Hispanic adults during the same years” (p. 1). This is one of the many statistics that show an example of a health disparity in the Hispanic population. Another example of a problem that is prevalent in the Hispanic community is the health promotion and screening rates. The CDC (2014) states, “A smaller percentage of Hispanic adults aged 50-75 years reported being up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening in 2010 than their non-Hispanic adult counterparts”

My research question was on Mexican culture, Mexican culture is something that I'm interested in and want to learn more about. Mexicans today speak Spanish and is spoken 92.7 percent of the population. Many Mexicans live in cities, but smaller rural communities still play a strong role in defining the country's collective vibrant community. Around 82 percent of Mexicans identify themselves as Catholic, according to the CIA, although many have incorporated pre-Hispanic Mayan elements as part of their faith. Family is one of our values, family is the most important element in Mexican society, especially outside of cities.

The purpose of this study is to develop more relevant weight-loss interventions; this study will examine the personal struggles and day-to-day experiences of African American with obesity. The approach is to consider the pathway between beliefs and physical activity within accepts of the study. A critical phenomenological approach would be used to conduct face-to-face interviews with the participants, age 20- 45. A sampling of individuals within the community would be selected to participate in the studies. It would be helpful to understand obesity from the perspective of people living with obesity and others who had encountered the issue of being obese. The philosophy is to use the interviewing process to select the participation.