Hispanics and the U.S. Healthcare System

(Note: This is my fourth post under the auspices of the nurse blogger scholarship which I recently received from Value Care, Value Nurses.)

The Hispanic population of the United States is growing exponentially, and the Pew Hispanic Center chronicles and tracks the collective successes and challenges of this burgeoning American demographic.

According to the Pew Center, the Hispanic population of the United States---currently the largest minority group in the country---will triple between 2005 and 2050, with non-Hispanic whites poised to themselves become a minority by 2050, certainly the largest projected demographic shift of the 21st century.

Taking these statistics into consideration, it is disturbing to learn that a recent Pew Hispanic Center study reveals that 1 out of 4 Hispanic Americans does not have a regular healthcare provider. Additionally, a similar number of Hispanic respondents reports receiving no medical attention or information from any member of the healthcare system in the previous year.

The Pew study, carried out in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, reveals that "the groups least likely to have a usual health care provider are men, the young, the less educated and those with no health insurance." The study results also clearly show that Hispanics who are less assimilated into American society---including those who are foreign-born, recent immigrants, and/or those who speak only Spanish---are less likely than their more assimilated counterparts to report having a regular medical provider.

Interestingly, when pressed for reasons why they lack regular healthcare providers, 41% of respondents simply said they lacked a provider because they are rarely sick. And a majority of Hispanic study subjects---83%, in fact---report obtaining the majority of their health information from television. Additionally, 79% states that they are acting on the information obtained from television and other media sources, changing diet and exercise practices solely based on reports and advertisements.

In terms of those Hispanics who have indeed received medical care in the last year, 77% reported their care as "good" or "excellent". However, 25% of those respondents who received health care over the last five years reports receiving poor treatment within the mainstream American health care system. The report continues by stating, "those who believe that the quality of their medical care was poor attribute it to their financial limitations (31%), their race or ethnicity (29%) or, the way they speak English or their accent (23%)".

Some other surprising findings also were revealed in the study results:

--45% of Hispanics without a regular health care provider actually have health insurance

--Half of the respondents without a regular provider have at least a high school education

--Many Hispanics without a health care provider were born here in the United States

--60% state that they received health care advice from family and friends in the last year

--A "slight majority" of those without a usual provider are "English-dominant or bilingual"

Following the release of the study, the headlines trumpeted the news: Many Hispanics Shut Out of U.S. Health Care System, Latinos Turn to TV for Health Advice, 25% of Hispanics Don't Visit Doctor Regularly, among other declarative statements meant to inform the public of the results of the study in simplistic and less-than-nuanced terms.

But what do these findings mean? What do we actually take away from the study results? Is there something in American society---or American health care, in particular---that has to change? With Hispanics carrying a disproportionately significant burden of diabetes and other chronic illnesses when compared to other segments of the population, it is in our best interest as a nation to address these disparities in a meaningful way. Whether we want to believe it or not, a lack of preventive health care on the part of such an enormous demographic will eventually have a widespread economic impact on society as a whole, with everyone eventually paying the price in one form or another.

Considering the climate towards immigrants since 9/11/01, it is this writer's fear that xenophobic Americans who rely on a "they should all speak English" anthem will use the results of this and other studies to defend their position that immigrants must conform, assimilate, and master the English language as a means to fuller participation and representation within the larger society. While all immigrants do indeed assimilate to some extent as they enter a new culture, the fact that Hispanics will be a majority of the population of the United States in less than 40 years underscores the notion that a broader view of this situation must be taken in order to fully embrace the coming demographic shift and its implications for health and health care in America. Websites like Optimos Medicos and other sites geared towards the Hispanic community indeed do their part to help bridge these gaps and cultural/linguistic divides. 

In my work as a nurse care manager for inner city Latinos over the course of the last decade, I have witnessed first-hand how culturally appropriate health care can be delivered to under-served populations despite barriers of language, education, and socioeconomics. However, the Pew/Robert Wood Johnson data suggests that there is more than simple socioeconomic factors which deter Hispanics from seeking regular preventive health care. When extrapolated, the data demonstrates that a large percentage of Hispanics---whether educated, English-speaking, foreign-born or not---have a relative tendency to eschew regular preventive health care, relying instead on the media, a perceived lack of acute or chronic illness, family and friends, and intermittent urgent care, in order to meet their health care needs.

It is my contention that the Pew findings necessitate a great deal of soul-searching for public health officials, Hispanic and Latino consumer groups and community leaders, government officials, as well as a broad spectrum of insurers, regulatory bodies, medical providers, health care systems, and others. I would venture a guess that Hispanic community leaders, clergy, popular entertainers, and other recognized figures of authority and cultural significance would be most likely to succeed vis-a-vis a public relations campaign urging Hispanics to obtain and utilize regular preventive health care. Additionally, it would behoove state and federal governments to invest in such a campaign with the knowledge that pennies invested in preventive health care now will save many dollars in the care of the chronically ill in the future.

So, what might a public relations campaign look like in order to reach Hispanics? Obviously, since such a large percentage of Hispanics report obtaining (and utilizing) health care information from television and radio, I would suggest a massive bilingual ad campaign targeting all segments of the Hispanic community. Highly esteemed popular entertainers and other prominent figures could be recruited as spokespeople for the campaign, providing a familiar and respected face for the project.

Above and beyond spokespeople and television ads, I picture a nationwide body of trained outreach workers (volunteer and otherwise), fanning out within their communities, educating their fellow community members about the value of preventive health care. These workers would be armed with literature, contact information for culturally sensitive medical providers accepting new patients, and other resources about what types of preventive health care are most highly recommended. Currently existing outreach infrastructures could be utilized in order to reach deeper into neighborhoods and social circles without duplicating efforts, dove-tailing with other outreach teams already actively involved in their communities.

Just as the gay community pulled together in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, educating one another about prevention and treatment options, stemming the tide of the epidemic, the Hispanic community could, with the appropriate resources, reach out within its own population in an attempt to bring more individuals into the fold. Coupled with a sustained, savvy and intelligent media campaign, major inroads could be made vis-a-vis enrolling Hispanics into primary care.

Considering the breadth of the issue and the potential challenges it presents, many arguments could be made that such a campaign is doomed to failure, and that the economic resources do not exist for such a massive outreach effort. And with no mandate for universal health care in this country, uninsured Hispanics would still be left in the dark. However, if one considers the potential impact of of an aging population of Hispanic citizens in 2050, burdening the economy and the society with undetected and untreated chronic illness, there is no question in my mind that millions of dollars in health care costs would be saved over the course of the next generation.

Preventive health care is an investment, and if we are truly a multicultural and tolerant society of immigrants and the descendants of immigrants, we have an opportunity to show our true colors, embracing the health of our Hispanic brothers and sisters as our own, investing in their---and our---collective future.

The Pew/Robert Wood Johnson study demonstrates what may indeed be a crisis of faith on the part of Hispanic Americans vis-a-vis the mainstream health care system in this country. However, the Chinese symbol for "crisis" is also the symbol for "opportunity", and this is one opportunity that we as a society should not miss.