NURS FPX 6618 Assessment 2 Mobilizing Care For An Immigrant Population

Student Name

Capella University

NURS-FPX 6618 Leadership in Care Coordination

Prof. Name:

Date

Mobilizing Care for an Immigrant Population

The United States has long been a melting pot of cultures, drawing individuals from across the globe to pursue the American dream. The nation has benefited from the creativity and potential that immigrants bring and has, in part, built itself upon their contributions. Approximately 14% of Americans are immigrants (American Immigration Council, 2021). The current assessment is based on developing a care coordination plan for the Mexican population, also referred to as Latinos and Hispanics.

Rationale for Addressing Healthcare Needs for the Immigrant Population

In understanding the healthcare needs of immigrant populations, the Mexican immigrant community stands out for the following reasons. The Mexican population is one of the largest immigrant populations residing in the United States, with a population ratio of 24% of the total immigrant population (Ward & Batalova, 2023). The Mexican population often faces challenges in accessing healthcare facilities within the country, resulting in poor healthcare experiences compared to other ethical and racial groups. This community shares a high percentage of chronic conditions such as diabetes within the population, serving approximately 14.4% of the diabetes prevalence within the community.

The Office of Minority Health (2021) reports that Hispanics are 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanics. Furthermore, the number of medical insurance policies is comparatively smaller within the Mexican community. Therefore, the population is at high risk of developing chronic health conditions, requiring immediate care coordination plans for addressing their healthcare needs. The selection criteria used to opt out for a population are 1) researching most immigrant populations in the United States, 2) identifying the largest immigrant population within the Virginia community, 3) analyzing the population with higher healthcare issues. Applying this criterion resulted in the selection of the Mexican population.

Assessing the Healthcare Needs

SWOT analysis was utilized to assess the needs of the Mexican population. The strengths of the Mexican community lie in their adaptability and resilience, as many Mexicans have shown resilience in accessing healthcare regardless of language barriers and immigration status. Similarly, this population cultivates a strong sense of community and a support system that helps individuals navigate the healthcare system and access resources. According to the CDC (n.d), Mexicans are more inclined toward helping their community and fostering collaboration. The potential weaknesses within the community are healthcare disparities, including higher chronic illness rates, lower insurance, and language and cultural barriers that significantly hinder adequate access and communication.

Research has recognized that a social disadvantage that many Latinos face is associated with ethnic disparities, which include a lack of education attainment, inadequate health insurance coverage, immigration status, barriers associated with English proficiency, financial difficulties, and immigration status (Oh et al., 2020). These challenges also present several opportunities, such as improving healthcare for Mexican patients through culturally competent training, overcoming language barriers, and increasing access to health insurance. However, deportation and the refusal of hospitals to treat undocumented patients pose severe threats to these people.

Participating Organizations and Stakeholders in Care Coordination

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH) has launched a partnership with many national organizations, such as the American College of Cardiology, the American Hospital Association, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association, to increase the availability and access to healthcare practices for chronic conditions to serve the Hispanic community. Similarly, to overcome the language barriers, the organization has partnered with the Spanish language media to create an international bilingual update, “Alliance’s Bilingual National Hispanic Family Helpline,” to increase awareness of the population’s health status.

Furthermore, the organization intends to provide culturally competent training and integrated healthcare services to help providers improve their practices and provide more personalized care to Hispanics (Office of Minority Health, 2020). The stakeholders that aim to be involved are physicians, nurses, pharmacists, case managers, telehealth specialists, health workers, mental health practitioners, policymakers, and health educators, who will be responsible for spreading awareness and providing culturally competent care. The environmental and provider capabilities help manage the healthcare needs of Hispanics.

The environmental capabilities that may hinder their access to care are lower average incomes, language and cultural barriers, and undocumented individuals. However, the NAHH (2020) has developed policies that address the risk of chronic illness and has partnered with associations to improve access to healthcare, while the bilingual family helplines tend to remove language barriers that reduce the likelihood of care practices. Within the provider’s capabilities, cultural competency, bilingual staff and information available, mental health inclusion, and community center care can be involved to improve the care practices.

Characteristics of the Population

The Hispanic population in the U.S. accounts for the most significant portion of immigrants. In 2021, reports have highlighted that almost 37.2 million Mexicans live in the United States. From the point of view of demographics, most of the population predominantly communicates in Spanish, as evident from a survey that found that around 71% of Hispanics primarily speak Spanish at home. Furthermore, other governmental data highlight that around 6% of the Mexican population is fluent in English, while most are not proficient in English. This underscores the prominent language barrier within the community, which significantly impedes access to healthcare. Also, the mean age of the Mexican residing population in the U.S. is 46 years old, highlighting that Mexican individuals lie in the age group where healthcare assistance and insurance are essential (Rosenbloom & Batalova, 2022).

NURS FPX 6618 Assessment 2 Mobilizing Care For An Immigrant Population

Similarly, the Census Bureau data highlight that the ratio of Hispanics holding a degree is comparatively lower than that of non-Hispanics. The Mexican population has low educational attainment rates, leading to a potential health literacy lag and a lack of healthcare assistance (Rosenbloom & Batalova, 2022). Similarly, the report further highlighted that Hispanics have a higher uninsurance rate than any other racial or ethnic group. The Migration Policy Institute further highlighted that the Mexican population also has the most extensive account for the undocumented immigrant population (approximately 5.3 million), reducing the presence of healthcare facilities and access to them.

Furthermore, Hispanics have a higher rate of obesity than non-Hispanics (Office of Minority Health, 2023). The characteristics of the Mexican population highlight that the lack of access to healthcare is due to factors such as lack of education, reduced health literacy, language barriers, and cultural and religious differences. The Hispanics also follow Christianity, but their perception of the religious obligation hinders their ability to participate in early screenings, timely detection, and treatment adherence.

Current Organizational Policies for Providing Health Care

The current organization, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a comprehensive reform law enacted in 2010 that covers healthcare insurance coverage, costs, and preventive care. While this act aims to increase health insurance coverage for uninsured individuals, it is worth noting that undocumented individuals remain ineligible for such insurance under the ACA. According to federal policies, undocumented individuals are not eligible for healthcare and insurance coverage; however, these individuals have access to private insurance (National Immigration Forum, 2022). The ACA aims to enhance healthcare access for all, adapting to environmental shifts and recent legislation, notably by offering healthcare through Medicaid. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) serves patients regardless of immigration status.

Through this act, even undocumented immigrants have access to healthcare. It is a legislative reform initiated in 1986 to provide healthcare assistance to all Americans, regardless of their ability to pay. This policy reform obligates all hospitals to provide emergency care to individuals regardless of their ability to pay to foster a sense of equity among natives and immigrants. Furthermore, this act obligates doctors and organizations to provide treatment for emergency conditions until the emergency exists. The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) allows children of documented immigrants to receive medical care. Undocumented children must wait five years for government access to federal programs (Aragones et al., 2021). However, the “Direct Access” pilot program in New York uses the safety net resources to offer undocumented immigrants in the state coordinated access to low-cost healthcare (Ornelas et al., 2020).

Associated Assumptions

Communication is the mainstay of adequately providing healthcare facilities within the Mexican community. Effective communication ensures physicians and patients understand each other, facilitating seamless healthcare processes and transitions. The underlying assumptions and beliefs associated with the Mexican population include the assumption that this population may have a low socioeconomic status, which hinders their ability to afford healthcare. To some extent, this assumption is valid; as an immigrant population with a low literacy rate, most Mexicans opt for odd jobs that barely meet their ends (Office of Minority Health, 2020).

Similarly, there is an assumption that all Hispanics are fluent in English, which impacts their communication of healthcare needs. It is assumed that Hispanics can communicate and understand English proficiently. However, the previously provided data highlight that around 71% of Hispanics prefer their native language at home. Thus, language proficiency serves as a significant barrier. Language barriers hinder individuals’ ability to communicate their healthcare needs effectively (Al Shamsi et al., 2020).

NURS FPX 6618 Assessment 2 Mobilizing Care For An Immigrant Population

Thus, there is a significant requirement for translators or interpreters to help immigrants and professionals assess effective communication. Many of these assumptions have merits, as low socioeconomic status hinders healthcare access regardless of the immigrant situation, and it can be confirmed that people who have lived many years in an English-speaking country have now become proficient in English or have gathered a degree and are doing a white-collar job.

Due to cultural differences, Hispanics face additional challenges accessing and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits. These include spirituality and dogmatic religious beliefs due to their solid cultural associations. Research has highlighted that religion has a central role in the well-being of Latinos regardless of their age as they identify themselves through religion and spirituality (Caplan, 2019). Therefore, it is essential to develop culturally competent training aligned with integrated, coordinated care to address these issues.

Evaluating Two U.S. Healthcare Policies

The two U.S. healthcare policies that guide current standards of care for the Mexican population are

the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS). The ACA, enacted in 2010, aims to provide equal healthcare access to all Americans, including immigrants, regardless of their socioeconomic status and language barriers, but it does not cover undocumented immigrants (National Immigration Forum, 2022). The CLAS has set guidelines to eliminate health disparities and provide equal care to individuals, including immigrants, regardless of their cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

It emphasizes cultural competency training and language assistance to foster a sense of integrated, coordinated, and patient-centered care for immigrants (Community Alliance, n.d.). It also serves the basic principle of providing care and equality to the patients. The implications for the professional practices within both policies are to educate eligible immigrants regarding coverage options and cultural competency training to provide equitable care to diverse immigrants. These policies emphasize equitable access to care, cultural competence, and language access to provide patient-centered, high-quality care.

Conclusion

The current assessment is based on providing the rationale for the healthcare needs of the Mexican population, the largest immigrant population in the United States. The Mexican community has strengths and weaknesses that provide unique benefits to the country and open gates to opportunities for culturally competent care. However, deportations and lack of access to healthcare for undocumented individuals pose significant threats to the population. Also, stakeholders such as primary healthcare professionals, policymakers, and organizations such as NAH can significantly contribute to providing culturally competent and coordinated care to the population. Furthermore, an organizational policy of culturally competent, integrated, coordinated care plan is advised to manage the language barriers.

References

Al Shamsi, H., Almutairi, A. G., Al Mashrafi, S., & Al Kalbani, T. (2020). Implications of language barriers for healthcare: A systematic review. Oman Medical Journal, 35(2), e122. https://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2020.40

American Immigration Council. (2021, September 21). Immigrants in the United States. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/immigrants-in-the-united-states

Aragones, A., Zamore, C., Moya, E. M., Cordero, J. I., Gany, F., & Bruno, D. M. (2021). The impact of restrictive policies on Mexican immigrant parents and their children’s access to health care. Health Equity, 5(1), 612–618. https://doi.org/10.1089/heq.2020.0111

CDC. (n.d.). Building our understanding: Culture insights communicating with Hispanic/Latinos. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dch/programs/healthycommunitiesprogram/tools/pdf/hispanic_latinos_insight.pdf

Community Alliance. (n.d.). The CLAS standards | Community Alliance for cultural and linguistically appropriate services. https://allianceforclas.org/national-and-california-clas-standards/

NURS FPX 6618 Assessment 2 Mobilizing Care For An Immigrant Population

Caplan, S. (2019). Intersection of cultural and religious beliefs about mental health: Latinos in the faith-based setting. Hispanic Health Care International, 17(1), 4–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540415319828265

National Immigration Forum. (2022, September 21). Fact Sheet: Undocumented immigrants and federal health care benefits. https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-undocumented-immigrants-and-federal-health-care-benefits/

Oh, H., Trinh, M. P., Vang, C., & Becerra, D. (2020). Addressing barriers to primary care access for Latinos in the U.S: An agent-based model. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 11(2), 165–184. https://doi.org/10.1086/708616

Office of Minority Health (2021). Diabetes and Hispanic Americans—The office of minority health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=63

Office of Minority Health (2020, January 1). National alliance for Hispanic health—The office of minority health. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/content.aspx?ID=9142&lvl=2&lvlID=52

Office of Minority Health (2020, September). Hispanic/Latino—The office of minority health. https://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=64

Ornelas, I. J., Yamanis, T. J., & Ruiz, R. A. (2020). The health of undocumented Latinx immigrants: What we know and future directions. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 289–308. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094211