Health
Minority groups face particular health-care challenges in addition to those of the general population. The Office of Minority Health was created in 1985 to advocate culturally and linguistically competent services and prevention efforts for minority communities. Among their main areas of concern:
- Infant mortality (death) rates for African-Americans and Native Americans/Alaska Natives are significantly higher than they are for whites.
- African-American men under age sixty-five develop prostate cancer at a rate nearly twice that of white Americans.
- Asians and Pacific Islanders (APIs) have the highest rates of tuberculosis.
- Hispanics have two to three times the rate of stomach cancer.
- Native Americans/Alaska Natives suffer from diabetes at nearly three times the average rate, while African-Americans suffer 70 percent higher rates than whites.
- More than 75 percent of AIDS cases among women and children occur among racial or ethnic minorities.
Social Characteristics of Minority Populations That Affect Health
The demographic profiles of non-Hispanic African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, and Alaska Natives differ considerably from those of the nonminority population. Because a high percentage of minorities live in urban areas, they are exposed to a greater number of environmental hazards, including pollution, traffic hazards, substandard and/or overcrowded housing, and crime. Occupational risks are also greater for minorities because a greater percentage of them are employed in potentially dangerous jobs.
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