title: Health inequalities: promoting policy changes in utilizing transformation development by empowering African American communities in reducing health disparities.
abstract: Social inequalities in the United States resulted in negative health outcomes for the African Americans. Their stressful living conditions of poverty, discrimination, racism, abuse and rejection from American society contribute to their negative health outcomes. The lifestyles of African Americans have been influenced by poverty and prior injustices, which have molded their worldview of health and illness. Dr. Martin Luther King, national civil rights leader, brought about social change with much prayer; however, he went a step further with collective gatherings to include the power of non-violence massive public demonstrations. This paper is an analytical review of the literature addressing social inequalities impacting on health inequalities of African Americans resulting in health disparities. Policy changes are propose by implementing transformation development and community empowerment models as frameworks for community/public health nurses in guiding African American communities with addressing health disparities. These models empower members of the community to participate in a collaborative effort in making political and social changes to improve their overall health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: BRK Healthcare Services Inc., P.O. 90899, Columbia, South Carolina 29290, USA. brkhealthcare@gmail.com
authors.forename: Bernice Roberts
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States