Table 4: Population by Race Self-Identification Foreign Born Race Number of People Percentage White 20,375,810 45.5% Asian 12,097,155 27% Some Other Race 6,617,226 14.8% Black or African American 4,270,404 9.5%
Evidence-based practice! Data show that the population varies significantly by place of birth and race. To practice cultural humility, mental and behavioral healthcare professionals must be aware of the populations they serve. Table 2: Population by Race Self-Identification 2018 Race Number of People Percentage White 236,102,692 72.2% Black or African American 41,683,829 12.7% Asian 18,449,856 5.6% Some Other Race 16,273,008 5% Two or More Races 11,224,731 3.4%
Native American Indian and Alaska Native Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
198,677
0.4%
146,444
0.3%
Two or More Races 0.2% Note : Based on data from the Pew Research Center (2020a). Self-Assessment Quiz Question #2 460,543 In 2018, from which country/region did the highest number of foreign-born people residing in the US come from by place of birth? a. South America. b. East and Southeast Asia. c. Mexico. d. Sub-Saharan Africa. Mental and behavioral healthcare professionals must be careful not to make sweeping generalizations regarding the characteristics or needs of any population. Further, patients are influenced by a variety of factors, including level of acculturation (to be discussed later), immigration experience, experiences with discrimination, and ability to speak English. Therefore, it is imperative that healthcare professionals ask patients about their personal experiences and important events in their lives. Some cultural generalizations may help clinicians increase their knowledge of specific cultures and enhance their understanding of a portion of patients’ differing experiences. However, this is not intended to shift the healthcare professional’s focus away from developing a better understanding of the dynamics of race, immigration, and other facets of diversity within the current social, economic, and political environment of the U.S. Mental and behavioral healthcare professionals are better prepared to both understand and help their patients if they are able to understand the cultural climate in which their diverse patients live and that climate’s role in accommodating or marginalizing them. Moreover, healthcare professionals will provide better care for their patients if they develop a better understanding of how they personally are accommodated and marginalized by American culture. Race, ethnicity, and immigration status are only a few of the facets of diversity that affect patients. Other facets of diversity include socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and gender identification. These facets of diversity can serve as dimensions that marginalize and/or oppress patients as well. Bureau, 2020). However, poverty is not equally distributed throughout the American population. According to new research, 74.7 million people have lost work since the start of the pandemic, with the majority of jobs lost in industries that were already paying below-average wages. Many who lost work and income are running out of money and savings. In January 2022, some 24 million adults reported experiencing hunger, and more than six million said they feared being evicted or foreclosed on in the next two months due to their inability to make rent or mortgage payments. Living in a stressful state of poverty can lead to an increase or onset of psychological distress.
Native American Indian and Alaska Native Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
2,826,336
0.9%
606,987
0.2%
Note : Based on data from the Pew Research Center (2020a). Table 3: Population by Race Self-Identification US Born Race Number of People Percentage White 215,726,882 76.4% Black or African American 37,413,425 13.2% Two or More Races 10,169,825 3.6% Some Other Race 9,655,701 3.4% Asian 2,627,659 2.2%
Native American Indian and Alaska Native Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander
2,627,659
0.9%
460,543
0.2%
Note : Based on data from the Pew Research Center (2020a).
Poverty Poverty is often a consequence of immigrants having fled war zones, disaster areas, and regions of extreme high unemployment. More recently, the COVID-19 global pandemic shifted the trend in poverty rates which had been declining for a decade. Following the 2008 world financial crisis, U.S. poverty rates peaked in 2010 at 15.1% before steadily declining to a rate of an historic low of 10.5% in 2019 (Statista Research Department, 2022). Beginning in 2020, the official poverty rate was 11.4%, up 1% from 2019 which marked the first annual increase since 2009. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty, about 3.3 million more than in 2019 (U.S. Census
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