For my first possible research presentation I am attempting to bring together the Latino communities lack of health insurance in St. George, UT. Finding a better way to reach out to uninsured individuals in the area. Most Latino's can be intimidated about signing up with the new health care website for many reasons. Reasons which I assume to include: immigrant status (legal, illegal), cost, language barriers, unaware of new health care law changes, inability to use a computer (no access to a computer). Most immigrants with illegal citizenship have U.S. born children that qualify for state funded programs such as medicaid, however, because one or more than one of the reasons listed above their children or they themselves may be risking a potential disease, cancer, health issues, etc. that could end up costing them their lives. That may sound extreme but the statistics on the number of people who die a death that could have been prevented if they had sought out preventive health care before could have lived. my research consists of what kinds of health issues are related with non-insured Latinos and my second possible research presentation is how to better communicate the opportunity for Latinos and/or their children to be insured and prevent those health issues.
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- How to better communicate the opportunity for Latinos and/or their children to be insured and prevent health issues in the community?
This peer-reviewed Journal article comes from the Department of Health at Utah State University. This journals suggests that Sociocultural factors must be taken into account when considering barriers that keep Latino's from being insured. In Latino culture "machismo" is a big issue among men. Latino men have masculine values that can influence their health down the road.
Carter-Pokras, Olivia D., Graciela Jaschek, Iveris L. Martinez, Pamela B. Brown, Sonia E. Mora, Nancy Newton, and Ileana Luciani. "Perspectives on Latino Lay Health Promoter Programs: Maryland, 2009." American Journal of Public Health 101.12 (2011): 2281-286. EBSCO Host. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
This article focused on ways to promote a more healthy-lifestyle to Latino individuals. I think similar tactics that were used in these efforts could be used to reach out to the local Latino community. The people they trained to go out were bilingual and had familiarity with the Latino culture. Which is a big factor when working with a different group. Making sure those barriers can be overcome is important for getting information out there in a way that is comprehensible and applicable.
Wilkin, H. A. "Reaching at Risk Groups: The Importance of Health Storytelling in Los Angeles Latino Media." Journalism 7.3 (2006): 299-320. SAGE Journals. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
This next research took place in Los Angeles. Stating that "health storytelling," could potentially be the best way of reaching Latinos in their own communities. One of the big ways they found it effective to reach younger Latino's was through the media and their own network of connections. After that it is all word-of-mouth communication. When Latino individuals hear this information about the new health care opportunity by someone who has heard about it from someone else I think it makes them more comfortable looking into getting insured or even getting their children insured.
Elder, John P., Guadalupe X. Ayala, Deborah Parra-Medina, and Gregory A. Talavera. "Health Communication in the Latino Community: Issues and Approaches." Annual Review of Public Health 30.1 (2009): 227-51. SUMMON. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
Another great source for my research project. This ties community, health issues, the latino community, and communications. A great example of interdisciplinary study. They take into account socioeconomic and legal status as well as a Latino individuals country of origin (which was great). _____________________________________________________________________
- What community based issues are related health problems within the Latino community?
"Overall Latinos in the United States confront higher rates of poverty, as well as lower levels of school education and English proficiency, and less access to the nation's health care services... thus, social and environmental factors strongly influence the health status of Latino children in the United States."(pg.1,Perez) First of all I chose this book because it was very relevant to my topic. I think it will help me shape my question above into a more well rounded question. One of the chapters in this book deals with the topic of Latino Children's Health and how the environment affects that. The authors of this book suggest that health is linked entirely to a child's neighborhood. They go into specific detail about how Latino children are raised in environments where they don't have the best school and where you can't play outside or have access to good food. These things are what cause a shorter life span.
Coffman, Maren, J., Cynthia, K. Norton, and Lara Beene. "Diabetes Symptoms, Health Literacy, And
Health Care Use In Adult Latinos With Diabetes Risk Factors." Journal Of Cultural Diversity 19.1
(2012): 4-9. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.
One of the most popular undiagnosed disease amongst recent Latino immigrants and current Latino's living in the U.S. is diabetes. This article sheds light on how bad the situation is among Latino's. For instance, the study found that many with symptoms of Type 2 diabetes had no idea they had diabetes and the people who did were unaware of how to treat themselves. The lack of health care access prevents them from receiving regular treatment.
keywords used in summon: Latinos health care reaching out, Latino health issues diseases
Erica, it looks like you've found some really good resources to help provide information for your presentation. After reading through what you've mentioned here, it is apparent that the Latino culture is definitely suffering here in the United States. It will be interesting to see how the Affordable Care Act will influence these communities in the future. Hopefully many of the barriers that Latinos are currently facing will be addressed. I look forward to hearing more about this topic.
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