There are significant health disparities
between minority/immigrant groups and the general population in the United States. These disparities have been found not just
as gaps in the quality of health, but in the information and training available to communities to understand health issues
relevant to them. Such disparities have an impact on the quality of life, quality and appropriateness of
health care, the prevalence of health conditions like cancer, HIV and AIDS, and other diseases that spread due to lack of
treatment and lack of understanding. The incidence of disease is increased when cultural norms discourage
communities from regularly getting check-ups or getting tested. In many African communities, including Liberian, people fear
being discriminated against if they openly get tested or say they have the HIV virus. In the same way,
cancer or mental health awareness is often shunned with the unfortunate belief that “what I don’t know can’t
kill me.”
In a community where health
is not actively pursued, it is easy to see that the number of people living with or infected by disease will continue to rise
within immigrant communities. Therefore, the CFA Health Awareness Program is working to improve the discussion,
use, and acceptance of health practices in immigrant communities. Our goal is to increase community awareness
of relevant health issues in immigrant communities and help communities better understand the necessary steps to prevent and
treat common diseases. Caring for All hopes to close the health disparity gap both in knowledge of
and occurrence of disease by advancing the discussions on health issues through education, training, activities and partnership
with professional institutions.
Caring for
All works with immigrant communities to help identify priority health issues and then uses established relationship networks
to implement relevant health initiatives. One of the largest areas of focus is cancer awareness.
Once again, in the large African communities we serve, cancer related issues have become a significant problem, often
due to the lack of information, but more centrally due to a culture that discourages discussion on health issues and regards
such topics as private matters. By creating the space for discussion in church and community
gatherings, CFA aims to create openness to discussion, promoting the value of health, the truths about disease, and the importance
of regular checkups. Caring for All also provides cancer awareness materials and free test referral to
individuals.
CFA also focuses on community
awareness about HIV, AIDS, and the dangers of other sexually transmitted diseases. CFA focuses on the importance
prevention, protection, and treatment, working to educate the immigrant community about the value of these practices, the
truths about these diseases, and the importance of being tested. CFA also provides information materials and practical resources
regarding sexually transmitted disease and gives referrals for free testing.
CFA also sees the incredible need for affordable healthcare for the many families that we work
with, realizing that no matter how much awareness people may have, they will not go to health centers if is not affordable.
In response to this need, we also work as a referral agency to local health care providers who provide their services
for free or at reduced cost to their clients. We see this partnership with local health care providers
as an essential piece to accomplishing the increased awareness and use of healthcare resources in our community.
