Health Literacy In The Amish Community

Improved Essays
Introduction and Key Terms
Approximately 300,000 individuals in America are members of an Amish community, making the Amish one of fastest growing populations in the nation (Diebel, 2014). Known within the health care sector for their strict adherence to a traditional lifestyle and “reluctance to seek preventative health care and delaying necessary medical treatment” (Brewer and Bonalumi, 1995, p. 494), the Amish are distinct from most other communities in America. Despite aversion to preventative health care, the Amish do seek out professional health services when necessary (Banks and Benchot, 2001), so it is imperative that health service professionals who work in hospitals and clinics near Amish communities have an understanding of Amish
…show more content…
Minimal health literacy rates within Amish communities contribute to the current aversion to modern medicine, and this is problematic in that many Amish individuals are never equipped to become health literate and to make their own health care decisions. Inefficient communication and ideological conflicts are the primary barriers that Amish individuals face in regards to health literacy. To demonstrate how to increase health literacy while overcoming these systematic barriers and celebrating community strengths, prenatal care interventions implemented in an Amish community in Geauga County, Ohio will be used as a …show more content…
First settling in America in the early 18th century, the Amish were members of the Anabaptist church that originated in Switzerland, (Banks and Benchot, 2001) and the crux of the Anabaptist church was and is “the desire to reject worldliness and materialism” (Brewer and Bonalumi, 1995, p. 495). This rejection of worldliness permeates Amish life in obvious and subtle ways. On the surface level, limited use of electricity, plain dress, and horse and buggy transportation are all byproducts of the Amish rejection of worldliness (Diebel, 2014), but those external choices have deep ideological and spiritual roots that also influence things such as health

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Racial Disparities in Health Insurance Including its Accessibility, Usage and Financial Impact In a world that has made great strides in social equalities, racial disparities in the health care industry are still a prevalent matter. This is especially true when it comes to access and utilization of health insurance. Inequalities can be seen throughout the health care system and have a major impact on our country’s (both current and future) health and well-being.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religious beliefs also play into the effectiveness of healthcare in the Hispanic/Latino population and the cultural use of home remedies. In an effort to provide culturally competent healthcare, studies have been done to identify the areas of greatest focus. T. Barone’s (2010) case study of an outpatient clinic for Indian Americans and Hispanics in Omaha, Nebraska identifies four major themes that contribute to culturally competent care included physical space, culture and language, community and family involvement, and the practicing of cultural medicine. (Barone, 2010).…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A major public health issue is minority health disparities. This is a significant issue due to how negative health outcomes lead to the low statistics of minorities concerning education, economic status, and productivity. Moreover, as a minority myself, I have personal ties to the negative outcomes of this particular public health issue. I frequently view how avoidable diseases and unhealthy life habits continue to evolve in my family and the entire African-American community. Minority health disparities are caused by specific core components.…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nies and McEwen states (as cited by Cherry & Jacob, 2014), members of some cultural groups are demanding culturally competent health care that incorporates their beliefs and practices. The world is changing and need for ‘culturally competent care’ is becoming a nationally recognized requirement effecting all aspects of healthcare from initial visits to a hospital, overall patient satisfaction scores, and ultimately health and healing. As this change occurs, so must the makeup of those called healthcare…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Public Health Issue Cardiovascular Disease is at a high level of prevalence in the Indigenous Populations of Australia Video This video outlines the health issues that Indigenous Populations in Australia face and describes the fact that Indigenous groups on average die earlier than other Australians. It focuses on multiple reasons for this statistic not just the prevalence of CVD however is interesting to look at to introduce the realities of the health crisis facing Indigenous Australians. It also explains that one important social change which would assist to close this gap is education. From education on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse to further graduate education changes to get more Indigenous people in the medical workforce.…

    • 1492 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Educating the Hispanic community assumes that the skills and knowledge are readily available and simple to understand (Wilson et al, 2005). The reality is that most medical educational brochures are written for English speaking patients and translated into Spanish and is often not culturally or linguistically appropriate to Hispanic organizations as well as the families and individuals that live within the community (Wilson et al, 2005). This inappropriately tailored brochure negatively affects a woman's health knowledge, preventive behavior, ability to navigate the health care system, and ability to care for their children. Interventions to increase a woman's heath literacy include written education materials with proper reading level and design, clear communication, and education to increase health knowledge (Wilson et al,…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A person’s health literacy is determined by that person’s capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make the appropriate health decisions. Two of the biggest influences that can determine a person’s health literacy are culture and education. In “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anne Fadiman and “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, there are many displays of how the roles of culture and education impact the lives of these two ethnic families. In “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” the effects of culture and education has an adverse effect on Lia Lee’s, the central character, life.…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    AAIP Case Study

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    AAIP wants to take a moment to thank you. You are making a difference. Your role in a healthy future for Native Americans is creating change. AAIP wishes to partner with you in reaching its mission, “To pursue excellence in Native American healthcare by promoting education in the medical disciplines, honoring traditional healing principles and restoring the balance of mind, body and spirit”. The Annual Meeting will be held on July 26 - 29th, 2018 at the beautiful We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Moran Eye Center Summary

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Working with the Moran Eye Center helped me to see that there are health disparities in our own communities. It also taught me a valuable lesson: culture plays a direct role in health. I understood this idea in theory, but it was not until I worked with the Ute Tribe that I truly saw it in practice. Because of past injustices, the Ute Tribe is very distrustful of non-Native American programs. This imposed a significant barrier to the Moran’s capacity to provide their services, all of which are free to the Tribe.…

    • 183 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    This paper will examine the medicine and healing techniques of the Native American people and the historical context behind the use of these medicines. It will attempt to uncover the healing properties of traditional herbal medicines as well as the spiritual power to heal human pathologies. Specifically the paper will examine the healing properties of natural remedies including nutritional and spiritual practices used by the indigenous peoples of North America and how those practices might benefit people in today’s society. According to the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA), in recent years, herbal medicines are being recognized for their efficacy and have made a significant contribution to modern Western Medicine.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There can be no assumption that today's majority is “right” and the Amish or others like them are “wrong.” A way of life that is odd or even erratic but interferes with no right or interests of others is not to be condemned because it is different. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Like Marshall, [Warren Burger] was an innovative, conservative chief justice with a profound sense of history and respect for the Constitution, fully conscious of the fundamental importance of an independent judiciary. Justice John Paul Stevens Warren Burger always was a person of strong beliefs and abundant energy. These attributes took him a long way, but they also created some opposition, as leadership does.…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s hard to image that somewhere in America there is a family that is struggling with not having proper healthcare. Most times when we hear of such families we instantly think that they must be in Africa. Laurie Kaye Abraham reveals in “Mama might be better off dead” that many African American families have trouble getting medical attention. Abraham tells us about an African American family who live in North Lawndale. Jackie Banes watches over her grandmother who is diabetic, her husband who needs kidney Dialysis at least three times a week, and three healthy but a handful children.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Rumspringa occurs in the Amish world when children turn sixteen years old and are encourage to explore the English World (Shachtman, 2006). The film The Devil’s Playground documents the decisions that Amish teenagers from LaGrange County, Indiana make when their restrictions become limitless and they can explore the modern world. During this time period they experience drinking, partying, pre-marital sex, and illegal drugs. The purpose of rumspringa is for the youth to decide if they want to be baptized and remain a member of the church or leave the Amish world altogether. Based on the values and beliefs of the Amish community, they can be described as a microculture within macroculture America.…

    • 1451 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After reading the first few chapters of Population Health: Creating a Culture of Wellness (Nash, D., Fabius, R., Skoufalos, A., Clarke, J., & Horowitz, M., 2016), it becomes apparent that population health is an all-inclusive approach to health and wellness that addresses a fragmented and costly healthcare system. Rising healthcare costs and lack of quality make it necessary to change the current healthcare system in the United States. Population health attempts to address some of these current flaws by developing a culture that stresses the importance of a cohesive and organized health care framework (Fabius, R., Pracilio, V., Nash., & Clarke, J., 2016) . Population health is quite complicated and has no easy, all-inclusive definition (Noble,…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Health literacy is a relatively new concept in healthcare promotion. The purpose of this essay is that it is used as a composite term to describe a range of outcomes of health education and communication activities. From this point of view, health education is directed towards improving health literacy. This essay explores the purpose of health education in health literacy, before examining in more depth the definition and effectiveness of the concept health literacy. This essay attempts to promote renewed attention to the role of health educators and communication in health literacy and encourages improvements in the sophistication of existing health education methodologies.…

    • 1329 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays