Journal Article Response: Racial, Ethnic, and Cultural Issues

 Article Summary:

            The article used national data to look at racial/ethical disparities in smoking behaviors, cessation, and factors related to cessation related to various groups. Adults ages 20-64 years old were included in the data from the 2003 Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey. It looked at non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics/Latinos (Trinidad, Perez-Stable, White, Emery, & Messer, 2011).
            Results from the study showed that significantly fewer African Americans reported quitting smoking after long-term use; ethnic minorities were more likely to be light smokers. Racial/ethnic minorities were not less likely to receive advice from health professionals to quit smoking, but were less likely to use nicotine replacement therapy. The idea of focusing on better understanding the cessation needs may benefit all the groups (2011).

Thoughts and Connections:

            According to the textbook, racial issues are a sensitive topic because there is a large concern about stereotyping. The practice of lumping people together by an obvious external trait such as race or ethnic practices is open to criticism because it does not take into consideration other important factors. To avoid stereotyping, certain factors other than race must be taken into consideration. This includes individual experience of oppression and discrimination, immigration status, degree of acculturation, language and communication skills and patterns, education and socioeconomic status, religion, age, gender, and family structure.

            Our textbook focuses in on different races and the statistics worldwide. It also is important to take into consideration these individuals’ ethnic values, which will help lead people to the recovery process. Developing cultural competence includes learning about different cultures, and the better one can understand the issues, the better the treatment can be provided, which was a point that the article I read brought up. In order to better understand certain needs of different groups, individuals need to have a better understanding of the culture and race if that is what is important to them.

Article Reference:

Trinidad, D. R., Pérez-Stable, E. J., White, M. M., Emery, S. L., & Messer, K. (2011). A nationwide analysis of US racial/ethnic disparities in smoking behaviors, smoking cessation, and cessation-related factors. American Journal Of Public Health, 101(4), 699-706.