Social Justice in the US- Mexican Border Region
Social Justice in the US- Mexican Border Region
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Social Justice in the US- Mexican Border Region
Introduction
Social justice as a concept advocates that everyone should access resources and privileges equally irrespective of one’s gender; culture or ethnicity. Historically I America, Mexican-Americans and other Hispanic groups were seen as a problem for society; they were denied resources due to language barriers and cultural norms that withheld them from equitable and fair treatment. Such discriminatory treatment has created an atmosphere where the poorest people in America live along the US-Mexican border creating disparities in healthcare among those who live on either side of this region. Individuals build ostensibly normative notions of what a socially equitable border should look like in a socially fair society, including equality of rights, incomes, and duties on both sides of the border.
Elements that impact the idea of social justice
Poverty, unemployment, and limited access to health care are the norm along the U.S.-Mexico border. Agenda setting theory was used to develop a framework to assist community people in bringing important health care concerns to the forefront of local discussion (Blair et al., 2016). The patient's social status, such as income level and educational attainment, will impact their understanding of how to adequately seek medical care. Income can determine whether a person seeks out services by their own accord or do they seek out services because of their need for them. The socio-cultural backgrounds can determine which factors are prioritized over others in medical interactions. For example, the patient may prioritize certain benefits of healthcare by understanding how to maintain health and what services provide the most benefit for their condition based on cultural values (Cooley et al., 2009). Housing status can impact where a person seeks out care. There is an increased risk that low-income patients will be more dependent on community clinics than high-income patients due to geographic accessibility issues.
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Health care disparities resulting from inequality
Health care services are becoming difficult to get for border-landers. Some of these reasons are lack of basic care doctors as well as other medical staff, low uptake of health insurance, huge stretches of borderline from medical centers, and other issues promoting variances in healthcare (Douthit et al. 2015). Healthcare disparities are defined as problems that arise when there are vast differences in health care access and quality between disadvantaged groups and other populations that receive better care. Disparities are often caused by economic inequalities but can also be attributed to issues such as lack of insurance coverage or transportation to care centers, language barriers, immigration status documentation, living environment and culture (Castaneda et al., 2015). Latino minorities are less likely to have insurance due to low-income jobs which causes them to receive a lower quality of care. The Latino minority do not receive treatment as other races due to language as well as cultural barriers that prevent nurses from providing them with those services. These minorities also have a delayed diagnosis compared to their White counterparts because of lack of health literacy, low-income jobs and insufficient insurance.
The US-Mexican border has experienced an increase in homicides related to drug trafficking, which has left many women widowed and abandoned. This has had a huge impact on the women of the border region because they are left vulnerable due to their lack of resources. Many women survivors of these crimes find themselves without a home and family because of the social stigma they also face. Furthermore, impunity is the rule rather than the exception when it comes to violence against women in Mexico, and femicide along the border has been no exception (Lusk et al. 2012). In 2014, for example, only one of every four murders was successfully prosecuted by Mexican authorities
It is difficult for immigrants who are undocumented to report sexual assault because many fear deportation. This is especially common among migrant workers who do not speak English and may be unfamiliar with U.S. laws regarding gender-based violence. In addition, people may also blame the victims for becoming involved in prostitution at all, which makes it difficult to distinguish between voluntary and non-consensual sex work. Non-reporting often leads to a lack of female representation and evidence during trials and investigations, and most human trafficking cases result in insufficient punishment for convicted traffickers. Trafficking rates along the Texas border region continue to increase as long as there is a demand for cheap sex and a lack of awareness or protection.
Role of nurses in advocating for social justice.
The border region can be transformed into a zone for improving healthcare equity if cultural traditions are respected and nurses contribute to the development of health care practices that develop public policies that promote health equity. It is important to acknowledge the diversity of persons who come from ethnic groups other than Hispanic or Latino. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate healthy lifestyle practices such as having prenatal care and vaccinations in clinics along with promoting English language fluency for Latinos (Buettner et al., 2012). The promotion of awareness about human trafficking will reduce violence against women that occurs along the US-Mexican border. It is important to provide care and support for women who have been trafficked by creating a safe environment through social services and counseling.
Conclusion
Social justice is an area that can benefit from nurses advocating for more accessible services in health-care in the US-Mexican region. This can be achieved through education of community members about what resources are available to them, while promoting culturally sensitive practices. This can decrease the number of health disparities that result from inequality in resource availability and provide a more equitable healthcare system for this border region.
References
Blair, R. G., Kozel, C. T., Hubbell, A. P., & Watson, K. N. (2016). Social Justice in the Borderlands: How Agenda-setting Theory Might Be Used to Reduce Health Disparities along the US/Mexico Border. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, 14(3).
Buettner‐Schmidt, K., & Lobo, M. L. (2012). Social justice: A concept analysis. Journal of advanced nursing, 68(4), 948-958.
Castañeda, H., Holmes, S. M., Madrigal, D. S., Young, M. E. D., Beyeler, N., & Quesada, J. (2015). Immigration as a social determinant of health. Annual review of public health, 36, 375-392.
Cooley-Strickland, M., Quille, T. J., Griffin, R. S., Stuart, E. A., Bradshaw, C. P., & Furr-Holden, D. (2009). Community violence and youth: Affect, behavior, substance use, and academics. Clinical child and family psychology review, 12(2), 127-156.
Douthit, N., Kiv, S., Dwolatzky, T., & Biswas, S. (2015). Exposing some important barriers to health care access in the rural USA. Public health, 129(6), 611-620.
Lusk, M., Staudt, K., & Moya, E. M. (2012). Social justice in the US-Mexico border region. In Social justice in the US-Mexico border region (pp. 3-38). Springer, Dordrecht.
