Thread: Study finds many Hispanics forgoing routine health care

Study finds many Hispanics forgoing routine health care
By Vianna Davila
Mercury News
Article Last Updated: 08/13/2008 07:05:34 AM PDT




The last time Robert Verceles went to the doctor for a regular physical was four years ago - and that's only because his job required it.

Verceles, 41, has health insurance, and he has a doctor. But he only visits him when "I can't take care of it myself," said the San Jose man.

That attitude isn't uncommon among Hispanics - especially young men - living in the United States. One of the largest surveys of Hispanics on health found that they are less likely to regularly see a doctor, even when insurance and language are not factors.

The findings, released today, suggest major health implications for the nation's fastest-growing minority group. While Hispanics generally suffer fewer chronic diseases than most adults, when they do get sick they're diagnosed at later stages of disease, which are harder - and costlier - to treat.

Other findings by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:

• About 27 percent of Hispanics don't regularly see a doctor even though many of them have medical insurance; a majority of this group speak English or are bilingual.

• Native-born, English-speaking Hispanics are more likely to use the Internet or newspapers for health information; foreign-born Spanish speakers stick to Spanish-language television and radio.

• 64 percent of Hispanics said the health information they got from the media prompted them to change their diet or exercise routines.

The
figures demonstrate the continuing need for health care practitioners to reach out to a Hispanic community that often puts more trust in Spanish-language television than in the medical system.
"It reflects the health system not being welcoming to our culture," said Adolph Falcon, vice president for science and policy at the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

But the study also showed that Hispanic immigrants were less likely to have access to a regular doctor or health insurance, compared with those born in the United States.

"That's the real gap I think we're facing: the ability to provide a medical home for a spectrum of this population," said Dr. William Vega, professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles, who assisted with the study.

As a whole, Hispanics are more than twice as likely to lack a regular health provider as non-Hispanics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About 45 million Hispanics live in the United States - and that's projected to grow to 128 million by 2050. For the phone survey, researchers interviewed 4,013 Hispanic adults in both Spanish and English last summer. The survey's margin of error was plus or minus 1.83 percentage points.
Most respondents who didn't have health providers said they didn't think they needed one. That a large share of the Hispanics without a regular doctor were born in the United States, and have at least a high school diploma, suggests "that it's not only financial reasons that are keeping Latinos from the doctors," said Gretchen Livingston, senior researcher at the Pew Hispanic Center.

"Having a health care system that's comfortable and accepting for the Hispanic population is much more than language," Falcon said. For instance, Hispanics are more likely to make decisions based on family consensus. The current health care system is "really set up for individual decision making."

The report also highlights the diversity within the population, said Debra Joy Perez, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Cubans and Puerto Ricans in the United States are more likely to consult traditional folk healers, study results showed; those who live closer to the U.S.-Mexico border more regularly seek health care outside the country.

Health needs continue to evolve. Foreign-born Hispanics may come from countries where less emphasis is put on regular health checkups, but their health tends to deteriorate the longer they remain in this country.

For instance, Dolores Ibarra's son Jesus, 2, has health coverage through the state's program for children. However, she continues to rely on traditional remedies from Mexico. The system here, she said in Spanish, is "too difficult" - expensive and bewildering for the new immigrant.

Overall, most Hispanics surveyed reported they were satisfied with their health care experiences in the United States.

Haydee Martinez recently visited the MayView Community Health Center in Mountain View with her new baby, 8-day-old Kamila, who was swaddled in a soft baby blanket as a nurse practitioner cooed over mother and baby.

Martinez said staff members have treated her well, and she hoped to get a job so she could afford a regular doctor.

Why are the illegals always included ?
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_10185751

Verceles, 41, has health insurance, and he has a doctor. But he only visits him when "I can't take care of it myself," said the San Jose man.

Errr what i'm i missing here ? Isn't this the way most Citizens handle Doctors visits ? Perhaps i should just drop by to say "I know your busy but Hey".

That attitude isn't uncommon among Hispanics - especially young men - living in the United States. One of the largest surveys of Hispanics on health found that they are less likely to regularly see a doctor, even when insurance and language are not factors




I've got news for these people........the attitude isn't uncommon for ANY race, particularly amongst the men.

How many of us know just how difficult it is to get a guy to go see a doctor? How many of you guys are willing to admit that seeing a doctor takes something major?

It was proven a very long time ago that, overall, women are far more likely than men to go for preventative care and seek treatment for health related issues and it's not anything new. It's a phenomenon that goes waaaay back.

Yet again, another case of something which effects the overall population being portrayed as a "Hispanic only" issue

Originally Posted by tencz57

Verceles, 41, has health insurance, and he has a doctor. But he only visits him when "I can't take care of it myself," said the San Jose man.

Errr what i'm i missing here ? Isn't this the way most Citizens handle Doctors visits ? Perhaps i should just drop by to say "I know your busy but Hey".

This article was so typical of the cruelty of Liberals: moan the loss of tax-payer funded healthcare to illegal aliens but display a who gives a #^& attitude to Americans who lose theirs.

Errr what i'm i missing here ? Isn't this the way most Citizens handle Doctors visits ?

I had to laugh. I was thinking the same thing. I wish I lived in the "great white world" they THINK we all live in......I'm reading it and thinking....hey what's so special about that? It's just how everyone I know handles it. Welcome to the real world! Reality sucks doesn't it? Not the big magic world you thought it was......

I've got news for these people........the attitude isn't uncommon for ANY race, particularly amongst the men.

How many of us know just how difficult it is to get a guy to go see a doctor? How many of you guys are willing to admit that seeing a doctor takes something major?

It was proven a very long time ago that, overall, women are far more likely than men to go for preventative care and seek treatment for health related issues and it's not anything new. It's a phenomenon that goes waaaay back.

Yet again, another case of something which effects the overall population being portrayed as a "Hispanic only" issue

Exactly! God forbid they be simply regular normal "human beings".

Not to mention.....lets see how this goes.......that women will forgo health care when funds are tight so their children get the care they need. Or parents will neglect their health care for the sake of the kids. I bet that will be a new "Hispanic only" issue too. Even when they're normal, they have to be "special".

Haydee Martinez recently visited the MayView Community Health Center in Mountain View with her new baby, 8-day-old Kamila, who was swaddled in a soft baby blanket as a nurse practitioner cooed over mother and baby.

LOL.....I'm sorry.....don't most mothers wrap their babies when they are 8 days old in a soft blanket? Even if they are poor they get the free one from the hospital. Can't say I've ever not seen a nurse working with new borns that didn't coo over a baby and pamper the mom......no matter what color they are? As a white woman.....being pregnant and having a baby was about the ONLY time I was treated so well.

Having a health care system that's comfortable and accepting for the Hispanic population is much more than language," Falcon said. For instance, Hispanics are more likely to make decisions based on family consensus. The current health care system is "really set up for individual decision making."

Once again, our entire health care system is expected to bend over backwards so as to ensure hispanics feel "comfortable and accepting!" I'm not even sure what that actually that means!

I'm sick and tired of these people feeling as if they are so special!

Why pay for the cow, when you get the milk for free? That's what's keeping many of them from PAYING for medical insurance. Tally up how many of their kids are getting FREE tax-payer funded insurance.

Overall, most Hispanics surveyed reported they were satisfied with their health care experiences in the United States.

Praise the Lord...I can sleep well tonight!! I've been so worried lately that the Mexicans were not happy with our ER services and the maternity ward care! What a relief!