- Major holidays included in Italy. 10
- Festa della Republica
- Festa dell'Unita Nazionale
- Festa del Lavoro
- Many Italian Americans have converted to celebrating the common American holidays instead (Christmas, New Years Day, Easter, etc.)
- Roman Catholic is the most practiced religion in Italy. 10
- Partake in "baptism, communion, reconciliation, confirmation, marriage, holy orders and illness" 10
- Sometimes older Italians carry rosary beads for prayer. 10
- The catholic religion has greatly decreased today in Italian Americans, though many older generations still hold true to these beliefs. 10
- Isabella's parents and grandparents were Roman Catholic and regularly attended church when they lived in Italy, though their church attendance was poor when they came to America. 4
- Many still believe in traditional health practices. 10
- Lemon for colds and flus
- Garlic for high blood pressure
- Herbal teas with bay leaves for stomach ache
- Prefer medication through injection. 10
- Belief in supernatural causes of illness. 2
- belief that the cause of an illness is a result of a infection from a supernatural cause (wind currents that bear diseases, or psychosomatic causes)
- "Evil Eye" (malocchio) and curses (castiga) which thought to be God or sent by an evil person and is a consequence for disobeying/bad behavior
- Believe fresh air is important for health maintenance. 2
- Ventilation is often found in homes and workplaces
- Believes emotions should not be bottled up, otherwise serious consequences. 10
- Pain is considered evil, unnatural and is feared. 10
- Troubled breathing is thought of as dying. 10
- Exhaustion is thought of as depression. 10
- Many feel guilty if sick because they feel unproductive. 10
- Isabella looks up to her father a lot and has developed his work ethic. She goes to school even when she is sick and would never tell her parents she isn't feeling well enough to work. 4
REFERENCES
HEALTH AND ILLNESS IN ITALIAN AMERICANS
Traditions/Religion
HEALTH & ILLNESS
LIVING CONDITIONS
- Italian Americans beliefs can vary from region to region due to the history of immigration and intertwining American beliefs with their own
- Beliefs and practices can be influenced by age, region of origin, education, socioeconomic status, year of immigration, etc. 10
- Isabella's grandparents have many traditional beliefs when it comes to medicine, however Isabella knows and believes in modern medicine, though she appreciates and is intrigued with her grandma's remedies. 4
Food
- Traditional cuisine. 10
- Extended family dinners
- Hosts prepared more food than would be eaten
- Event does not start until every guest is present and all food is prepared
- Italian dinners can be up to 3 hours long. 10
- Elders sit at the head of the table, youngster in the middle. 10
- Isabella and all of her extended family would gather for dinner on Sunday evenings and everyone would bring a different course for dinner. 4
- First Italians settled in the Northeast region of the United States (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut) and then towards the Midwest (Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Louisiana). 7
- 90% crowded in urban areas. 7
- Large families in small apartments/houses. 7
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- When Italians first came to America, they pursued "Little Italies"--which where areas that had populated with other Italian, keeping the Italian culture alive. 7
- Many resisted assimilation and the American way, which caused discrimination within their jobs and housings. 7
- Within "Little Italies," the Italians created their new environment with "Italian language institutions, newspapers, theaters, churches, mutual aid socities, recreational club, debating societies," etc. to create their Italian-American culture. 7
- Isabella's parents resided in "Little Italies" and is where they opened their restaurant. 4
HYPOTHETICAL CHARACTER
- Isabella is 15 years old. She lives in Pennsylvania with her family (mother and father, her 2 older sisters and her younger brother) 4.
- Isabella's mother and father immigrated to the U.S. when they were 27. Their families came with them and they settled in a heavily populated urban area, where they opened up their family restaurant. 4.
- When Isabella's mother was pregnant, her father handled the restaurant, though her mother was still working and doing what she could for them to get by. 4.
- Isabella was raised alongside many of her cousins and her extended family was very close. 4.
- She and her siblings worked at the family restaurant after school to help her parents, especially since her mother was due for gallbladder surgery soon. 4.
POPULATION STATISTICS
- According to the U.S. census of 2000, there are close to 16 million people who identify as Italian American, however, 26 million people are said to have at least one Italian grandparent. 6
- That is 6% of the U.S. population
- Italian Americans are the 4th largest European ancestry group. 5
- Germans at 15%
- Irish at 11%
- English at 9%
- Italian at 6%
- Italian is also the 4th non-english language spoken in U.S. homes today. 5
- Isabella and her family speak broken English in their home. Her parents speak a lot of Italian, though Isabella speaks English well and is always teaching her parents. 4
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
One study found that in schools with Italian American children around the age of 15, 43.7% had good hygiene, but only 37% had reasonable eating habits, 18.5% lived an active lifestyle, 8.6% had a nutritional understanding, and only 2.4% had knowledge of food and safety. 9
HEALTH STATISTICS
& ISSUES
- To learn the history of Italian Americans
- To learn the health and illness beliefs of Italian Americans
- To understand their health practices and medicine
- To understand the differences and similarities within the Italian and American healthcare system
- 64%+ of older Italian Americans reported to be overweight in 1992. 3
- 70%+ had high blood pressure. 3
- 33%+ had hyperlipidemic serum cholesterol levels (women at 38% and men at 23% at all age levels). 3
- Women (27%) are shown to be more obese than men (15%) based on BMI. 3
- Found men consume an average of about 41 grams of alcohol per day vs. women consume about 17 grams per day. 3
Diet plays a huge role in Italians and levels of high cholesterol, respiratory illness, type 2 diabetes (all diseases that can be related to food and a sedentary lifestyle) are increasing. 11
Cultural Competent Care
- Though most Italian Americans today are accustom to western medicine and procedures, there are still differences between cultures.
- Must take into account their cultural beliefs (religions, health practices, primary language, etc.). Isabella's grandparents experienced doctors and nurses who never acknowledged their culture or beliefs. 4
- Informing patient about procedures, medicines and/or health insurance and access to them (via interpreter if needed). Isabella's grandparents know very little English and this also scares them because there was no translator the first time. 4
- Treating each patient with respect, sensitivity, concern and care. This allows the patient to trust the medical staff assisting them.
HEALTH CARE BARRIERS
- Access of healthcare to Italian immigrants were first hard and limiting. 8
- Language barrier
- Cultural barrier
- Lack of information
- Economic disparities
- Many turned to traditional healers and health practices. 8
- However, today most Italian Americans believe in western/modern medicine, therefore cultural barriers are not as present as they used to be. 8
- Isabella and her family don't have problems going to the doctor if it's necessary, however they have a hard time getting her grandparents to go due to their horrible first visit when they first came to America. 4
HEALTH CARE OPPORTUNITIES
- U.S. citizens pay more for the same services in healthcare.
- Procedures have different rates for different people depending on insurance, whereas in Italy, prices are the same for anyone. 1
- In Italy, health care is a public based system, supported by tax income and private insurance markets very different from America. 1
- Essential, in some cases, health care is free (most of the time emergencies).
- Private health services however will have fees, but wait times and the quality of service is said to be better. 1
- The cost of healthcare in the U.S. is around 17.1% of the national GDB whereas Italy was 9.1% (including both government and private). 1
- Price of medication, doctors salaries, and special procedures all play a role in the cost difference. 1
- Isabella's family tries to plan any big medical procedures back in Italy because of the amount of money they would save. 4