Health Factors in the African American Context-Case Study of Shawn Billings
As an African American, Shawn Billings has several socioeconomic, lifestyle, spiritual, and other cultural factors that may influence his illness. For instance, poverty is a significant factor that affects health care among African Americans. African Americans are less likely than white Americans to have full-time jobs and are more likely to be poor due to structural restrictions (Sood & Vanita, 2021). This causes some of them not to seek medical attention when sick. Several African Americans also experience food insecurity. This has significant effects on both health and economic well-being. A household or family experiences food insecurity when they cannot access enough nutritious food. This occurs when people live in economically depressed locations with no grocery stores selling fresh foods or lack the money to buy healthy meals (Dubowitz et al., 2021). Also, African Americans believe home remedies can be as effective as conventional remedies in managing diseases. This makes them use complementary therapies such as herbs to treat their illnesses.
Besides, African Americans believe spirituality plays a role in their clinical experiences. Many African Americans see the church as a reliable source of social assistance and health information and hence resort to spiritual healers and prayers whenever ill (Siler et al., 2021). The issues to be sensitive to when interacting with the patient include cultural practices and religious beliefs. Although the patient may be engaging in cultural practices not recommended in conventional medicine, it would be necessary to respect his practices. This can help promote patient satisfaction with the quality of care provided. When making medical choices, the patient may turn to his spiritual and religious values (Dillard et al., 2021). Specific prayer times prescribed by the patient’s religion may conflict with medical care.
The targeted questions I would ask the patient include:
- Do you think religion has a role in your illness?
- What is your regular diet?
- Do you use any recreational drugs?
- What conditions have you been diagnosed with in the past?
- What do you do for a living?
- Has anything been done anything to manage your illness?
References
Dillard, V., Moss, J., Padgett, N., Tan, X., & Kennedy, A. B. (2021). Attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of religiosity, spirituality, and cultural competence in the medical profession: A cross-sectional survey study. PLoS ONE, 16(6 June), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252750