University of South Florida, School of Aging Studies, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
Ethn Dis. 2010 Summer;20(3):304-9.
An amalgam of health concerns differentially affects the behavioral, psychological, and physical well-being of African American women. These disparities are both the result of, and contributors to, marked differences in the perception, interpretation and treatment of various psychological disorders and chronic medical conditions. Data show that African American women are diagnosed with more chronic and debilitating illnesses than found in the general population, and are often misdiagnosed with a myriad of psychiatric and medical disorders. Despite these findings, ambiguity remains about the contextual factors that affect the physical and mental well-being of African American women. The focus of this review was not to describe all psychological or medical conditions with deleterious outcomes among African American women, but rather collectively address identified mental and physical health issues prevailing among African American women. This approach addresses the urgent need to better understand the health needs of African American women in the United States, and demonstrates how advancing our knowledge of this marginalized group may lead to sustaining mental and physical health-related dialogue, while advancing policy.
健康问题的综合影响对非裔美国女性的行为、心理和身体健康产生了不同的影响。这些差异既是各种心理障碍和慢性疾病的感知、解释和治疗方式存在显著差异的结果，也是其促成因素。数据显示，非裔美国女性被诊断出患有更多的慢性和使人虚弱的疾病，比一般人群中发现的还要多，而且经常被误诊为各种精神和医学疾病。尽管有这些发现，但仍不清楚影响非裔美国女性身心健康的环境因素。本综述的重点不是描述非裔美国女性所有具有不良后果的心理或医学状况，而是共同解决非裔美国女性普遍存在的已确定的心理健康和身体健康问题。这种方法解决了迫切需要更好地了解美国非裔美国女性的健康需求的问题，并表明，增进我们对这个边缘化群体的了解，可能有助于维持与心理健康和身体健康相关的对话，同时推进政策。
