This document provides an overview of key aspects of Black and African American culture including racial/ethnic identity, history, language, health beliefs, religion, nutrition, and health promotion strategies. It discusses how slavery has impacted their values of strength and unity. Their language developed from slaves combining English and their native tongues. Many hold Christian beliefs and see religion as connecting them to God and guiding their morals. Diet is influenced by socioeconomics and access to foods while lifecycle events integrate religious traditions. Efforts are needed to address health disparities like cardiovascular disease through improving access to care, education, and policy reforms.

1. BLACK AND AFRICAN AMERICANS
Andria Tito
Frangely Rivera
Dileimy Sanchez
Angelis Rivero
Albert Roig
Overview
The presentation covers:
➢ Racial/ethnic identity
➢ History, value orientation
➢ Language-communication,
➢ Health beliefs and practices,
➢ Religious and spirituality,
➢ Nutritional behavioral-diet
➢ Health beliefs and strategies

2. ➢ Lifecycle events
➢ Cultural health promotion,
➢ Health promotion strategies.
Racial/Ethnic Identity, History and Value
Orientation
➢ Hypodescent rule is accepted in classifying people
➢ African Americans are from black and white origin hence
their color and name
➢ Some people adopt a mono-racial, biracial, situational
changing, or
transcendent racial identity which has led to challenge in
identity.
➢ Race and ethnicity contributes to their overall health.
➢ History of slavery plays are role in strength and decisiveness
which is good for
physical and emotional growth.
➢ Music dance and other recreational activities are important
for physical
exercise and relieving stress
➢ Blacks have values such as strength,, unity and determination
inherited from

3. their slave ancestors.
Language and Health Beliefs
❖ Language
➢ African American English their vernacular which is signified
by use of double negative. E.g. I am not
doing nothing)
➢ The language is from the slaves who used both their common
language as well as American English.
➢ The language is sometimes lost in the 2nd and 3rd generation.
❖ Health beliefs
➢ Diseases are as a result of natural(eating unfit foods) and
natural causes (eg witchcraft and bad omen)
➢ Home remedies are used to cure some diseases,
➢ The situation is changing and some are adopting the modern
methods of treatment
➢ A lot needs to be done to change health beliefs. Eg education
and training
Religious beliefs and spirituality
➢ Most are Christians with protestants being about 53% of
the population.

4. ➢ About 5 % are Catholics, 14% are evangelistic Protestants,
4% are mainline Protestants, and 2% belong to the Islamic.
Other religions are rare and unaccounted.
➢ AAs belief in the need to keep the body holy through good
habits.
➢ Religion involves worship in churches and mosques and
spirituality involves connection and relationship with their
supernatural being and themselves.
➢ Helps them understand reality, destiny and make peace
which is good for healthy living.
➢ Also helps in definition of morals and values.
➢ Some beliefs prohibit consumption of some animals which
are considered healthy. E.g. pigs by Muslims
Nutritional Behavioral-
Diet/life cycle events
❖ Nutritional Behavioral-Diet
➢ Influenced by their socioeconomic factors.
➢ Low access to fresh foods and balanced diet due to
their location and low income.
➢ Their history of slavery also plays a role.
➢ High level of alcohol consumption and other drugs
contributes to high cases of health complications.

5. ❖ Lifecycle events
➢ Birth and adolescent-adult transition are celebrated
and education done to boys and girls to nature their
morals.
➢ Marriage is celebrated in traditional ways and
religious ways where a clergy is involved.
➢ Death is celebrated by family and friend and
members of clergy are also involved the process.
Medical Care Access
❖ Reduced medical access due to traditions, racism, lack of
insurance and
ignorance.
❖ Affordable Care Act has improved the number of Blacks
having access to
insurance and quality primary care since 2010.
❖ In areas such as Texas and Mississippi African Americans
have shown
disinterest in extending their Medicaid or acquiring insurance.
The affected
age is about 18-65 years.
❖ Awareness of the importance of medical attention and needs

6. to be done by
building more training centers and health care facilities in rural
areas in order
to reach as many African Americans as possible.
Cultural Care Health Promotion
❖ Health risk: cardiovascular diseases (CVD)
❖ More African Americans are likely to suffer from (CVD)
than whites.
❖ CVD is the major cause of high mortality in AAs. Majorly
associated with diseases such as diabetes, obesity,
ischemic strokes, sickle cell, hypertension and other
genetic diseases.
❖ Reasons:
➢ poor diets- access to fresh foods and balanced diets
➢ lack of primary care- regular screening and prevention
measures
➢ drug and alcohol consumption
Health Promotion Strategies/methods
a) Primary preventive measures- preventing AAs from suffering
from (CVD).

7. th care
clinicians,
undergoing the necessary screening, and canceling
balanced diet,
maintaining a healthy weight, stopping smoking and alcohol
consumption, and
controlling blood pressure, diabetes, and any predisposing
diseases.
b)Secondary measures involves screening for risk groups, early
diagnosis and
intervention.
diabetes, obesity,
hypertension etc.
c)Other strategies: advocacy for policy reforms, education on
health and
creation of awareness.
Conclusion
determination to stay
together in unity to defeat oppression as their ancestors did.
Their culture,
socioeconomic status and lifestyle affects their overall health
conditions in

8. different ways. Through research and policy implementation
many African
Americans have access to insurance through Affordable Care
Act. As a result
they are able to have quality and affordable primary care,
however a lot of
effort needs to be done to ensure that hindrances to quality
healthcare such
as racism, lack of insurance and negligence are completely
eradicated
through policy reforms.
References
-Anderson, J. N., Carter, S., Fani, N., Gillespie, C.
F., Henry, T.
L., Holmes, E., ... & Kaslow, N. J. (2021). Adverse childhood
experiences in
African Americans: Framework, practice, and policy. American
Psychologist, 76(2), 314.
21). Traditional health beliefs
and practices
among southern rural Blacks: A complement to biomedicine.
In Perspectives on the American South (pp. 307- 322).
Routledge.

9. disease prevention by
diet modification: JACC health promotion series. Journal of the
American College of Cardiology, 72(8), 914-926.