Host society acculturation and health practices and outcomes in the United States: Public health policy and research implications worldwide

Abstract

The unprecedented ethnocultural diversity in the United States and other Western countries likely changes the social norms for various health practices in the host populations, thus impacting prevalence of such practices and leading to the need for modification of public health policies. However, application of host acculturation (HA) principles in the public health domain remains underdeveloped. We conducted a narrative review of theoretical and empirical information about the association between HA and health practices or outcomes, drawing on evidence from health-care services, complementary and alternative medicine, diet, smoking, alcohol use, and psychological well-being. Given the experience of different countries with large immigrant populations, future multidisciplinary studies are needed both to supply additional empirical evidence and to identify ubiquitous HA processes, and thus inform public health promotion initiatives in the United States and worldwide.