https://www.facebook.com/louise.drakescharles
The social media outlet I have chosen is Facebook. I’ve chosen to utilize this venue because this is the one that I am most familiar with and thus I consider it to be the best platform to transmit my message. The audiences that I’m intent on targeting are my peers, as well as young and older adults in the African diaspora. I hope to utilize this platform to foster awareness about diabetes, hypertension and heart disease and how it affects people of African dissent. It is very important to be knowledgeable disease prevention and health maintenance.
Diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are just a few of the major health issues affecting people of the African diaspora particularly those living in underprivileged or impoverished neighborhoods. Racial disparities have affected modalities of care delivery, health maintenance, and disease management in patients with diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease among African-Americans. There is an increased prevalence in these diseases among black Americans as opposed to whites.
The underprivileged are less likely to seek treatment as a result of their socio-economic status. Many of them have no health insurance and often use the emergency room as a substitute for the doctor’s office with the end result being no follow-up care. Often time there is knowledge deficit about the disease process and reluctance to seek out information for fear of embarrassment.
There are a lack of relevant and culturally proficient projects for African-Americans in under-served areas. Healthier food choices are often expensive and in limited supply. Supermarkets serving the underprivileged offer foods with high sodium and sugar content at cheaper prices. This negates a positive and healthy lifestyle thus enabling poorer disease management. Hospitals in poorer neighborhoods often lack vital resources necessary for the treatment of patients requiring emergent treatment for complications from heart attacks, hypertension, and diabetes. The life expectancy of the geriatric population has been increasing over the past decades and as such it is a struggle them to survive with these co-morbidities.
It does not seem that my social media source reached the intended target due the lack of traffic on my group page. But I will not deterred from pushing the issue of awareness about diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease and the racial and ethnic disparities that exist with treatment modalities and delivery of care.
