EXW450 Module 3 Assignment Asthma Illness Disparity

Name

Arizona State University

EXW 450- Soc Deter of Health and Beh

Dr. Hogan

9/11/2022 

Asthma has become a leading cause of illness and impairment among American kids, but its toll isn’t equally felt throughout the country’s demographics. There have been some improvements in public policy, health care, and research in the United States over the last 15 years, but the racial discrepancies in asthma outcomes have not vanished. Asthma management is disproportionately difficult for people of color. African-Americans, Latinos, American Indians, and Natives bear a disproportionate share of the cost of asthma in the United States. The incidence of asthma-related fatalities and hospitalizations is also higher among these populations. A 2017 analysis by Everyday Health found that the rate of emergency room (ER) visits for asthma among black Americans was five times that of white Americans (Harrar, 2020). Emergency room visits indicate that asthma is not adequately managed or that the patient does not have easy access to a doctor who can assist with normal asthma care. The research also discovered that the mortality rates associated with asthma were much higher for African Americans in comparison to white Americans, with 23.9 fatalities per 1 million African Americans and 7.4 fatalities per 1 million white Americans (Harrar, 2020). The following paper is an investigation into the two major factors contributing to this health disparity. The factors include systemic racism and socioeconomic status. The paper has also highlighted one health intervention which is addressing the environmental exposures/triggers.

Systemic racism is one of the main factors that contribute to disparities in asthma prevalence, management, and treatment. Minority races have long been discriminated against in social and economic policy decisions that have their roots in systemic racism. Something that has not improved throughout time is the fact that people of color and indigenous peoples generally have to make do with substandard housing, food, and healthcare compared to white people. Long-lasting residential segregation, for instance, when poverty is prevalent in Black and Hispanic areas, was caused by discriminatory housing rules. A vicious cycle of low educational opportunities, few available jobs, and poor health care is reinforced by residential segregation. Lung health is adversely affected by poverty, race, and the presence of rundown poorly maintained housing stock, all of which are common results of discriminatory housing policy in the United States. Asthma triggers such as mold, grit, and mice and cockroach droppings may be more easily prevalent in low-income and squalor-ridden dwellings. This implies that people of color are more likely to be exposed to asthma triggers and have less opportunity to consult with doctors who are trained in the latest treatments. Asthma is exacerbated by exposure to pollution from vehicles and factories, both of which are more common in minority neighborhoods. The AAFA research estimates that each year Latino children miss 112,000 school days due to asthma episodes and that this is directly attributable to gas, oil, and air pollution (Harrar, 2020). When it comes to living in locations in the United States that contain significant concentrations of ozone, a lung-irritating version of oxygen created by air pollutants including volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides, Hispanics are 51% higher likely than white individuals to be affected. All of this shows how systemic racism has led to the Asthma health disparities between Blacks, Hispanics, and Whites.

In addition, social-economic status is a major contributor to the Asthma health disparity between the majority and minorities in the United States. Studies that compared the chances of hiring skilled black and white job candidates with similar resumes revealed that white applicants were 20% more likely to be picked than black applicants (Williams, Sternthal & Wright, 2019). Individual cases of prejudice in the workplace are accompanied by systemic forms of bias, such as residential segregation-based institutional discrimination. Over the course of the previous several decades, high-paying low-skilled employment has moved out of the urban, segregated regions where blacks are concentrated and into the suburbs. Evidence suggests that preconceived notions about African Americans and the communities where they are most prevalent contribute to this outflow. Childhood poverty has been linked to increased vulnerability to a wide variety of health risks, including asthma. Poor children are more likely to encounter conflict, aggression, separation, instability, and disorganization in the home; they get less financial and emotional assistance, and their parents are less attentive and more authoritarian than those of better socioeconomic status. Children from low-income families are less likely to have parents who are actively engaged in their education, read to them less often, expose them to more television, and limit their access to books and computers. According to an analysis of the negative associations between poverty and children, low-income kids are more likely to be exposed to environmental toxins, live in overcrowded, low-quality housing, be victimized by crime in their communities, and be served by subpar municipal institutions like schools and daycares. There is some evidence that kids who hail from households of members of underrepresented groups and those with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to suffer from asthma at an early age. All this shows how socioeconomic status contributes to this health disparity.

Addressing the environmental exposure to asthma triggers in minority neighborhoods is a major intervention. Exposure to asthma triggers like dust is the main cause of the prevalence of asthma in minority neighborhoods (Stern, Pier, & Litonjua, 2020). Inequalities in environmental exposures, which lead to asthma inequities, need to be addressed. Asthma risk factors include exposure to common home contaminants such as cigarette smoke, dust mites, cockroaches, animal dander, and mold. Young children are at high risk for developing environmental asthma, and the condition has a significant financial impact. Allergen loads in the house may be reduced with the help of certain mechanical measures, which in turn improves the lung health of children with asthma. Reduced asthma triggers and better health outcomes for asthmatic children are related to multifaceted therapies such as dust impermeable mattress coverings. Cost-effectiveness has been shown in studies using certain combinations of therapies in comparison to valued health benefits.

In conclusion, how residential segregation (a lingering institutional legacy of racism) contributes to the racial and socioeconomic disparities in asthma prevalence has been discussed. Because of long-standing bigotry, many people of color have been forced to live in unsafe areas. Air and noise pollution, both of which are common in these areas, aggravate asthma symptoms. Reducing the prevalence of asthma by eliminating environmental exposures to asthma triggers in communities of color is a significant health intervention. This paper has examined the two main causes of this health disparity. Systemic racism as a whole and socioeconomic standing are two contributing elements. One health intervention has also been emphasized in the paper. To reduce asthma attacks in people of various minority groups, the intervention focuses on reducing their exposure to environmental factors.

References

Harrar, S. (2020, December 28). Sharp Disparities in Asthma Rates and Care in BIPOC Communities. Retrieved from Everyday Health: https://www.everydayhealth.com/asthma/disparities-in-asthma-incidence-management-and-care-among-bipoc-communities/

Stern, J., Pier, J., & Litonjua, A. A. (2020, February). Asthma epidemiology and risk factors. In Seminars in immunopathology (Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 5-15). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

Williams, D. R., Sternthal, M., & Wright, R. J. (2019). Social determinants: taking the social context of asthma seriously. Pediatrics, 123 Suppl 3(Suppl 3), S174–S184. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-2233H