Multicultural Healthcare Initiatives

Healthcare has been a major issue for governments, politicians, voters, and the population overall. A difficult issue in general, yet further complicated by challenges related to the healthcare needs of very diverse multicultural communities.

Avoiding issues of the government’s role in healthcare and the always challenging healthcare debate, we’ll just have a glimpse into healthcare marketing for diverse communities in key states and the relation to diverse segments that are prevalent in their communities.

Michigan – Arab American

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has outreach programs for numerous multicultural communities throughout the state. As the state with the largest Arab American populations (….) they are one of the more educated organizations and have even published studies like this one: Health Status of Arab Adults in Michigan

Here is a great example of MDHSS and an initiative for the Arab American community in relation to Diabetes.

MDHHS – Arab American Diabetes Outreach (English & Arabic)[/caption]

California – Asian | Asian American:

California is extremely diverse and while is at the top in terms of population for most multicultural segments, it is the highest population and percentage for the Asian segment. This group in itself is diverse in culture, language, and many other areas so presents numerous challenges.

The California Department of Health created Health Equity programs. The Asian American initiative for example works with community organizations and adapts information for the Hmong, Vietnamese, and Chines communities. Throughout California there are also community organizations such as the San Francisco based Chinese Community Health Plan (CCHP) which offers health plans throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Texas – U.S. Hispanic | Latino: Texas

By percentage, Texas is second in terms of population numbers (behind California) and in percentage of the population (trailing New Mexico) and has been at the forefront of outreach to this community.

Among the challenges for the Texas Department of State Health Services are a high rate of uninsured (31% of Texas Latinos are uninsured according to Pew Hispanic LINK . With a high percentage of Hispanics speaking Spanish in the home, one key consideration is to have a complete set of Spanish resources such as the Texas Department of State Health Services website which can also support community efforts.

Arizona – Native American | Navajo:

Outreach to Native American communities is often overlooked in many states, but in Arizona this is a key segment for a variety of issues. In population size Arizona has the largest Native American population (by percentage Alaska is top) so it is a population with a significant impact on the state.

Arizona has a specific health insurance outreach for Native American communities called the American Indian Health Program (AIHP) health insurance plan options for this community. In fact, the Arizona health services even offers information in Navajo.

Georgia – African American | Black:

As one of the states with the highest concentration as well as population for African Americans Georgia has put together numerous outreach programs to the community. Yet despite Atlanta being one of the cities with major government health organizations (ex. Center for Disease Control CDC, American Cancer Society, and more) there continue to be major issues with mortality and insurance coverage among the African American Community. A recent NPR article looks into some of the challenges in Atlanta.

Whether on a national, state, or community level, many public as well as private organizations understand the need to reach out to diverse multicultural communities, yet resources always present a challenge. For states where a segment represents a large percentage, the needs for specific marketing / outreach efforts for communities are clear, but for others deciding on which segment to focus efforts on will be much more challenging.

On the positive side, there are now more resources available that can be adapted or offer insight as to how to communicate with these communities.

For additional information for advertisers looking to reach multicultural communities, Alcance Media Group’s multicultural health advertising team can assist.