The Population of

African Americans (AA)

Alyssa Abler, Emily Faulk, Sarah Gauthier, Lexi Rockenbaugh
20 November 2018
Definition: African Americans
Definition:

An ethnic minority population of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from
Africa. The majority of the members in this United States population are descendants
of enslaved black people. This diverse population shares many cultural characteristics,
traditions, and social beliefs. African Americans are separate from the generic umbrella
term of “black people” because not all black people have any ancestry from Africa.

(United States Census Bureau, 2011)

Demographics of African Americans
● 46.8 million African Americans or Blacks living in the US as of 2017, making it the
second largest minority in the United States of America.
(Chappell, 2017)

● 13.5% of African Americans in the United States have a health status considered
to be in poor or fair condition as of 2016.
(National Center for Disease Statistics, 2017)
Age Demographics of African Americans
● Age distribution of African Americans as estimated in the United States as of 2015
(United States Census Bureau, 2015)
○ Under 5 years = 6.8%
○ 5-17 years = 18.7% *
○ 18-24 years = 11.6%
○ 25-34 years = 14.6%
○ 35-44 years = 13.1%
○ 45-54 years = 13.2%
○ 55-64 years = 11.5%
○ 65-74 years = 6.4%
○ 75+ years = 4%

*Largest age group

Education Demographics of African Americans
● Education attainment level of AA as
of 2015 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015):
○ High school graduate or higher = 84.7%
■ Male = 83.3%
■ Female = 86%
○ Bachelor’s degree or higher = 10.2%
■ Male = 17.7%
■ Female = 22.4%
● Educational attainment as of 2015
among AA individuals 25 years or
older (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015):
○ Less than high school diploma = 15.3%
○ High school graduate (includes
equivalency) = 31.5%
○ Some college or associate’s degree = 33%
○ Bachelor’s degree = 12.8%
○ Graduate or professional degree = 7.5%
Social Determinants of Health
● Economic Stability:
○ Poverty
■ In the USA, Africans Americans are the poorest ethnic group
■ For the past 50 years, African Americans have consistently had the lowest median incomes
■ Poverty for this community has lead to poorer health outcomes and higher rates of morbidity
and mortality

(Noonan, Velasco-Mondrago, & Wagner, 2016)

● Social and Community Context:

○ Racial Discrimination
■ Resulted in substandard employment, poor housing, lower education levels, lower income,
and inadequate access to health services

(Noonan, Velasco-Mondrago, & Wagner, 2016)

Health Disparities of African Americans
● Heart Disease
○ Adults of the African American population are 40% more likely to have high blood pressure
■ Women of the African American descent are 1.6 times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to
non-Hispanic White women
■ AA are less likely to have their high blood pressure under control compared to non-Hispanic White adults
○ African Americans are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic Whites

(Office of Minority Health, 2016)

● Diabetes
○ Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans are almost twice as likely to have a diabetes diagnosis
■ African Americans are 80% more likely to be diagnosed by a Physician
○ Additionally, African Americans are at a higher risk for suffering from diabetes-related complications compared to
non-Hispanic Whites
■ 4.2 times more likely for a diagnosis of end-stage renal disease
■ 3.5 times more likely to need hospitalization for lower limb amputation
○ African Americans are twice as likely to die from diabetes compared to non-Hispanic Whites

(Office of Minority Health, 2016)

Health Care Disparity of African Americans
● Lack of Health Insurance Coverage
○ Private Health Insurance: 54.4% of African Americans obtained private health insurance compared
to the 75.8% of non-Hispanic whites
○ Medicaid: 43.6% of African Americans relied on public health insurance compared to the 32.7% of
non-Hispanic whites
○ Uninsured: 11% of African Americans compared to 3% of non-Hispanic whites were uninsured
● Socioeconomic Struggles
○ The African American unemployment rate is twice of that of non-Hispanic whites
○ Average median income for African Americans is approx. $36,500 compared to that of non-
Hispanic whites at approx. $61,300
■ Difficulty with transportation, affording appointments and services, lack of known resources
● Access to Care
○ At risk for discrimination based on race
○ Lack of knowledge of available resources and how to act on them

(Office of Minority Health, 2018)

Nursing Intervention
● Public Health Nursing Intervention - Minnesota Wheel
○ Outreach: “Locates populations-of-interest or populations-at-risk and provides information about
the nature of the concern, what can be done about it, and how services can be obtained.”

(Minnesota Department of Health, 2001)

○ By using the PHN intervention of Outreach, African American populations, especially uninsured
and unemployed persons, may benefit by being provided about information of how to obtain
health care insurance, access to insurance, and getting past barriers
■ To implement this, set up an information booth in an area that regularly sees a large number
of uninsured African Americans, such as a free clinic or a church in an area with a high AA
population

(Thorton, Glover, Gilk, Henderson, & Williams, 2016)

References
Chappell, B. (2017). Census Finds A More Diverse America, As Whites Lag Growth. The Two-Way Breaking News from NPR.

Minnesota Department of Health. (2001). Public Health Nursing Interventions: Applications for Nursing Practice. Retrieved from
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/opi/cd/phn/wheel.html

National Center for Health Statistics. (2017). Retrieved from https://cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/black-health.htm

Noonan, A. S., Velasco-Mondragon, H. E., & Wagner, F. A. (2016). Improving the health of African Americans in the USA: an
overdue opportunity for social justice. Public health reviews, 37, 12. doi:10.1186/s40985-016-0025-4

Office of Minority Health. (2016). Heart Disease and African Americans. Retrieved from
https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=4&lvlid=19

Office of Minority Health. (2018). Profile: Black/African Americans. Retrieved from

https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=61

Rastogi, S., Johnson, T. D., Hoeffel, E. M., & Drewery, M. P., Jr. (2011). The Black Population: 2010. U.S. Census Bureau
References
Thornton, R. L., Glover, C. M., Cene, C. W., Gilk, D. C., Henderson, J. A., & Williams, D. R. (2016). Evaluating Strategies For
Reducing Health Disparities By Addressing The Social Determinants of Health. Health affairs (Project Hope), 35(8), 1416-1423.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2015). Selected population profile in the United States: 2015 American community survey 1-year estimates.
Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk#