Community should promote preventive care among immigrants

Jan 23 2007

Community groups, not medical providers, "are in the best position to spread health information and push for prevention among immigrants," according to experts, the AP/Washington Times reports.

According to the AP/Times, most immigrants "come from countries where they are used to walking everywhere and where eating on the go means mostly fruit and vegetables from roadside stands, so it's no surprise that their health deteriorates the longer they are exposed to the fattening fast food and car-driven lifestyle of the U.S."

In addition, with "some challenges many immigrants carry with them -- little education, little English fluency, and low incomes that make cheap fast food the easiest option and insurance unattainable" -- the "health problem becomes a time bomb for this community," the AP/Times reports.

In response, experts recommend that community groups seek to educate immigrants about nutrition and preventive care.

Astrid Rozo-Rivera of Kennesaw State University -- director of Project IDEAL, the initiative for diabetes educational advancement for Latinos -- said, "Knowing the time limitations for learning, we create our own curriculum, material that's sensible but complete and entertaining, full of color, popular refrains, and mental images that are easy to remember because they are specific to Latin culture," adding, "The traditional relationship of dependence -- of waiting for the doctor, the health system or the medicines to be the sole ones with responsibility for health -- must be replaced with prevention and self-care" (Dell'Orto, AP/Washington Times, 1/22).