MA & Looking to the Future

The population of the United States is expected to grow from 296 million in 2005 to 438 million in 205 of which 82% of that increase will be due to immigration. (Passel & D'Vera, 2008) Of the many immigrant groups set to be part of the increase, by far the largest of these groups is the Mexican American which will see a rise in population from 1.3 million currently to 14.7 million by the year 2050. (Angel, 2011) With such a large increase in population number, it is imperative that the social and cultural dynamics of this group of people be understood. With a better understanding of these factors, those that help can be encouraged, and those that do not can be addressed. A good example of this is familism. It was once believed that familism was a roadblock to socioeconomic mobility. (Tienda & Mitchell, 2006) However, some studies have found that familism, within the MA family, may actually provide a certain amount of protection from poverty in the form of extended family networks, family cohesion, and social support. It is practices like familism that may be encouraged so that those in need may not fall victims to isolation due to their lack of English and formal education. Taking advantage of familism, government agencies and health care agencies may look to get that larger social and family network more involved in the care of their elderly family members in an attempt at reducing both the moral and financial cost to society when this elderly and vulnerable population sometimes goes untreated, mistreated, or under-treated.

Angel, J. (2011, April 28). Aging in america: The latino perspective. Know. Retrieved from http://www.utexas.edu/know/2011/04/28/angel_jacqueline/

Passel, J., & D'Vera, C. (2008, February 11). U.s. population projections: 2005-2050 . Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050/

Tienda, M., & Mitchell, F. (2006). Hispanics and the future of america. (p. 149). Washington: The National Academies Press.

MA and Curanderas

Closing out the last blog, it was noted how education is a powerful and much needed tool in combating the negative affects of cumulative disadvantage. One aspect where education may have the greatest influence may be in educating MA about their option for treatment and how some options may be more beneficial than others. With so many going uninsured in the United States, a report found that Mexican Americans “…report fewer health care visits, are less likely to have a usual source of care, and more often receive care in Mexico”. (Angel, and Angel 1264-1271 ) This is of particular importance within the MA community since some MA still seek treatment from people like curanderas, or healers that rely on herbs, foods, massages, and religious objects to help cure the sick. (Stoller and Gibson 281) More often than not these healers have no background in medicine and may be preying on the elderly rather than helping them as many charge for their services, and like any business, would appreciate a constant customer base. This may lead curanderas to discouraging traditional medicine that may be more beneficial to someone suffering from illnesses like diabetes that, in most cases, can be treated with nutritional education and subsequent modification, and insulin injections; ideas and treatments of which a curandera may not be familiar with or willing to consider as it may drive away paying client. Those susceptible to accepting treatment that may not help or cure their under lying condition may be the under/uninsured who look to alternative treatment since they can’t afford traditional treatment. In the MA community elderly Mexican Americans have the highest percentage of uninsured at 33 to 40%. (Ruiz)

Angel, Ronald J., and Jacqueline L. Angel, et. al."Stability and Change in Health Insurance Among Older Mexican Americans: Longitudinal Evidence From the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly." American Journal of Public Health. 92.8 (2002): 1264-1271 . Print.

Ruiz, P. 1993. “Access to Health Care for Uninsured Hispanics: Policy Recommendations.” Hospital and Community Psychiatry 44, np. 10 (October): 958-62.

Stoller, Eleanor Palo, and Rose Campbell Gibson. Worlds Of Difference. 3. Thousand

Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2000. 127-281. Print.

MA Health and Depression

In the previous blog it was mentioned how cumulative disadvantage could affect the elderly MA by placing them further into poverty. Not only is this a concern for their socioeconomic life, but for their overall health as cumulative disadvantage can affect their outlook on life. In a study conducted it was found that Mexican American showed a greater tendency to exhibit a fatalistic and nihilistic attitude and that this may contribute to limiting activities that would improve their health such as proper usage of health care. (Olson 79)  It should not be surprising that a group of people who have consistently found themselves in the poorest of conditions and the reapers of what cumulative disadvantage has to offer should become fatalistic. This fatalistic and nihilistic attitude is of tremendous importance within an aging MA community since age often comes with illnesses that may be exacerbated by such an outlook on life. In a study done on Mexican Americans suffering from diabetes, it was found that “…presence of concomitant depressive symptoms among older diabetic Mexican Americans is associated with a substantially greater health burden than is seen among diabetic individuals without depression…”. (Black 56-64) This study shows how a culture can influence the outlook of individuals and affect, negatively, how their body deals with illness. If a person is elderly, in poverty, and is also from a culture where fatalistic and nihilistic attitudes prevail, then it is reasonable to say that these people need to be assisted and educated in order to keep them from suffering needlessly, and costing themselves and the health care system more resources then may be necessary. Again education is of primary importance as it was also cited within another study of Mexican Americans with diabetes that showed that “…subjects with at least some college education had a lower incidence of diabetes than those with less than a high school education”. (Haffner)

Black, S A. "Increased health burden associated with comorbid depression in older diabetic Mexican Americans. Results from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly survey. ." Diabetes Care. 22. (1999): 56-64. Print

Haffner, MD, MPH, Steven M., , et al. "Increased Incidence of Type II Diabetes Mellitus in Mexican Americans." DIABETES CARE. 14.2 (1991): 102-07. Print.

Olson, Laura K. . Age through Ethnic Lenses. Oxford: Rowman  Littlefield, 2001. 79 Print.

MA Cumulative Disadvantage

There can be either cumulative advantage or cumulative disadvantage. Too often MA are the unfortunate recipients of cumulative disadvantage. The idea of cultural disadvantage is that a person – usually those from poor working class backgrounds – finds that very early in life they acquire a job that may lack benefits, or a pension plan that, over time, can accumulate and place that person at a socioeconomic disadvantage when compared to someone else who may have been fortunate enough to acquire a better job with greater benefits. (Stoller and Gibson 127) However, cumulative disadvantage need not only occur in the realm of employment. Cumulative disadvantage can begin when a person is required to attend an inferior school, born to parents who are not fluent in the dominant language, must eat foods that are poor in nutritional value, or who may just have been raised in a household with abusive parents. For the elderly, cumulative disadvantage is of significant concern as their cumulative disadvantage can place them in a situation of tremendous need. “The worst off one-fifth of the elderly (disproportionately unmarried women, minorities, and the physically impaired) receives 5.5% of the elderly's total resources, whereas the best off one-fifth receives 46%.Equalizing effects of Social Security are more than outweighed by private pensions, asset income, and other sources”. (Shea) With the aging of the body, and retirement inevitable, cumulative disadvantage can place the elderly in great jeopardy of living in poverty, or greater poverty if they are already in poverty. “Forty-seven percent of older Mexican Americans live below or near the poverty level (Parra and Espino); these elders tend to be female, recent immigrants, and illiterate in English and to have the least education”. (Suarez and Ramirez)

Crystal S. Shea D. Cumulative advantage, cumulative disadvantage, and inequality among elderly people. Gerontologist. 1990;30:437–443. [Pub Med]

Parra, E.O., and D.V. Espino, 1192 “Barriers to Health Care Access Faced by Elderly Mexican Americans.” Pp. 171-77 in Hispanic Aged Mental Health. Ed. T.L. Brink. New York: Haworth

Stoller, Eleanor Palo, and Rose Campbell Gibson. Worlds Of Difference. 3. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 2000. 127-281. Print.

Suares, L., A. G. Ramirez. 1998. :Hispanic/Latino Health and Disease.” Pp. 115-37 in Promoting Health in Multicultural Populations: A Handbook for Practitioners, ed. R M. Huff and M.V. Kline. Thousand Oaks, Calif,: Sage

Elderly MA and Fraud

Much of the content in the last blog had to do with the inability of many MA elderly to learn English at a proficient enough level to allow them access to things like higher education. With proficiency in the dominant language, English, it has been shown that this would increase the chances of a person living independently. (Burr, and Mutchler) Well living independently can be a good thing the independence comes at a price. Many MA retirees will continue to work after the age of 65 years in order to supplement their income due to low retirement finances. (Talamantes, Lindeman, and Mouton) Having most likely worked in a low paying menial job without an adequate retirement package, elderly are sometimes duped out of the little savings they do have by con artists looking to sell them something that is fraudulently presented as an economically, or health uplifting remedy. With an independent elderly MA, their position may be even more precarious than the average American because their lack of English, combined with their lack of education, may not allow them the capacity to distinguish between an outlandish unsubstantiated claim from a true opportunity to improve ones economic or health situation. Just like the snake oil salesman of the past, there are individuals today who look to lie about possible medical treatments that simply have no basis in the scientific world. Elderly, who are often suffering from more than one ailment may feel desperate and try a treatment that is expensive and has no value. Many of these types of scams can be alluring to a poor, uninformed, undereducated MA and can easily drain them of the little savings they may have. “…given the limits of a victim’s advanced age and life expectancy, it is virtually impossible for the elderly victims to ever replace assets lost as a result of fraud.” (Sharpe 16)

Burr, Jeffrey, and Jan Mutchler. "English Language Skills, Ethnic Concentration, and Household Composition: Older Mexican Immigrants" The Journals of Gerontology. The Gerontological Society of America, 24 Oct 2002. Web. 24 Feb 2012. <http://psychsocgerontology.oxfordjournals.org/content/58/2/S83.short>.

Sharpe, Charles C. Frauds against the elderly. Jefferson: McFarland & Company Inc., 2004. 16. Print.

Talamantes, M., R. Lindeman, and C. Mouton. "HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE OF HISPANIC/LATINO AMERICAN ELDERS." Health and health care of hispanic/latino american elders. http://www.stanford.edu, 2011. Web. 24 Feb 2012. <http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/hispaniclatino.html>.

Mexican Americans and Language

As was mentioned in previous blogs, MA are one of, if not thee fastest growing Spanish speaking segments of the population in the United States. With so many non-English speaking individuals it can raise the problem of these individuals not being able to assimilate as they struggle with a language barrier. This problem is only amplified as those who fail to acculturate become older Americans. In a report done by the U.S. Senate done in 1989 it was estimated that there would be a 500% increase in the population of those individuals of Spanish speaking origin. (Olson) Without having learned English by this time, older MA education will continue to stagnate."...57% of people 41 to 64 years old and 65% of Spanish speakers 65 years old and over reported their English speaking ability as less than very well." (Shin, and Kominski) As has been shown, lower levels of education leads to a life at a lower socioeconomic level which has been shown to be associated with increased levels of risk for chronic diseases. (Hamman) It shouldn't be surprising that this is the case since much of life's navigation require that you are informed. Without adequate information on health risks, lifestyle adjustments, theories of aging, and access to higher education regarding theses matters, people will remain uninformed. MA and other Spanish speaking individuals need to have access to classes that allow them to study the language of which much of the information is disseminated.

Works Cited

Hamman, R. F., J. A. Marshall, J. Baxter, L.B. Kahn, E. J. Mayer, M. Orleans, J. R. Murphy, and D. C. Lezotte. 1989. "Methods and Prevalence of Non-Insulin_Dependent diabetes in a Biethnic Colorado Population: The San Luis Valley Diabetes Study." American Journal of Epidemiology 129, no. 2:295-311.

Olson, Laura . Age through Ethnic Lenses. Oxford: Rowman $ Lettlefield, 2001. Print.  

 

Shin, H. B., and R. A. Kominski. "Language Use in the United States: 2007." U.S. Census Official Website. U.S. Department of Commerce, 2010. Web. 20 Feb 2012. <http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/acs-12.pdf>.

Elderly Mexican Americans and Education.

One of the key components of the SES is level of education. While many elderly are not in school or undergoing any new training, many still find themselves part of the work force. The level of their education often determines the type of work that MA need to do into their senior years as a means of support. In 1998 it was estimated that 29.4 % of Hispanics of the ages 65 and over had a high school diploma or higher as compared to their white counterparts who had a high school diploma or higher 71.6 % of the time. (Lindeman) The study also showed that Hispanics held a Bachelor’s degree or higher 5.4 % of the time while their White counterparts had a Bachelor’s degree or higher 14.8 % of the time or almost three times as often as Hispanics. (Lindeman) With numbers like these it would not be a surprise to find that MA are part of a demographic that end up in low paying menial jobs. With low pay, many Hispanics find themselves living well below the poverty line. In a survey done in 1999 it was found that 20.4 % of Hispanics 65 years of age and over lived below the poverty compared to 7.4 % for White seniors. (Current Population Survey) Undoubtedly, finances will effect seniors access to healthcare should they not be able to afford insurance in the first place, or pay for medication. As was found by the National Health Interview Survey, health disparities by income level become less pronounced as more people over the age of 50 form all economic backgrounds report worst health. (Today’s Research on Aging) While this may be the case, the question may also be raised if the lifestyles of different groups effect the way they age particularly in their senior years. For example, would a MA age different if they had an office job instead of a manual labor job? If so, would they age better or worse?

Works Cited

Current Population Survey, March 2000, PGP-4

Lindeman, Mouton, Talamantes, Health and Health Care of HISPANIC/LATINO AMERICAN ELDERS. Retrieved Jan 28, 2012, from http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/hispaniclatino.html

Today’s Research on Aging. Population Reference Bureau, (2008), 11, 1-4. Retrieved from www.prb.org.

Percentage of Mexican American Senior Citizens.

The idea of SES (Socio Economic Status) contains three key concepts (occupational status, income, and education) that are used to help determine the social ranking of a single person, or a group of individuals that share common characteristics such as race or culture (Today’s Research on Aging). In this and future blogs, the focus will be on Mexican American (MA) elderly and how their SES effects their health. While there are many other groups of people I could have focused on, I have chosen to study the MA because they are part of one of the fastest growing segments of the population; Hispanics. In a count conducted by the Census Bureau in 1990 the number of individuals of Hispanic heritage accounted for 3.7% of the population that was over the age of 65 (Bureau of the Census). This number is expected to increase to 15.5% by 2050  (Bureau of the Census). Of this growing number of Hispanics, 61% are of Mexican origin (10 Health Status of Hispanic Elderly). With such a large number of individuals it is imperative that any disparities experienced by this group of individuals due to a lack of socioeconomic resources be addressed. However, the pinpointing of any disparities may be difficult since many people of all income levels report overall bad health since they are at such an advanced age (Today’s Research on Aging). While this may be the case it should not stop further inquiry. There are still many variables that effect how an aging person’s health is affected due to their SES. These may include but are not limited to the key concepts mentioned above.

Work Cited

Bureau of the Census

National Research Council. "10 Health Status of Hispanic Elderly." Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Health of Older Americans. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1997. 1. Print.

Today’s Research on Aging. Population Reference Bureau, (2008), 11, 1-4. Retrieved from www.prb.org.