Diversity and Ethnicity: Asian American Health, Medicine Essay (Essay Sample)

Cultural and Social Diversity and Ethnicity: Asian-Americans
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor's Name
Date
Cultural and Social Diversity and Ethnicity: Asian-Americans
Introduction
The United States of America has become a global village. Various races and ethnic groups have migrated into the land in search of good earnings and high standards of living. Asian-Americans are among the minority groups in the United States of America. The Asian-American population living in the United States of America comprises individuals with ancestry origins from the Indian sub-continent, East and Southeast Asia, and have formed a conglomerate resulting in the Asian -American group. According to the statistics from the census report in the year 2015, there are over 17.5 million Asian -Americans living in the United States of America. The Asian-American group has been deemed as the fastest-growing minority group in the United States of America. Due to its cultural and racial infusion, there are diverse cultural and ethnic practices and disparities that have played a significant role in their lifestyles and, consequently, their health outcomes.
Religion
Question A
Since Asian-Americans are Americans with Asian ancestry, the group comprises numerous religions with which each has its own underlying beliefs and doctrines. Christianity holds the largest percentage of the religious beliefs upheld by the Asian-Americans. Christians occupy42%, those who don't believe in any faith (26%), Buddhists (10%), Hindus 10%, Muslims 4%, and the Sikhs 1%. The religious beliefs are unique per the religious faith upheld by an individual (Jayaram, 2019). A large percentage of Asian-Americans strongly believe that faith is the fundamental key to eternal life. The larger percentage believe in the power of God, the supreme healer and giver of life to all men across the world. Their faith has been anchored in God and His sovereignty. At the same time, another percentage of Asian Americans comprises of the Buddhists that strongly believe in the power of ancestral spirits. The ancestral spirits have been highly integrated among the Buddhists by using shamans to protect themselves and keep themselves safe (Jayaram, 2019).
Question B
Healthcare is necessary for all humans to live effectively and carry out their daily activities and economic activities. The topic of healthcare has been controversial among the Asian-Americans because cultural traditions hold a fundamental part in the lifestyle and conduct of the Asian-Americans (Jayaram, 2019). Nevertheless, these religious beliefs have made it difficult for the Asian-Americans to receive conventional or westernized healthcare services because of their strong inclination towards their faith in God and ancestral spirits (Jayaram, 2019). These religious beliefs have led to the majority of the Asian-Americans underusing healthcare services and focus on only those healthcare services that are compatible with their culture and native language.