4261.0: Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - 5:30 PM

Abstract #21638

Perceptions and Use of US Health Care System by Latino Immigrants and Newcomers

Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD1, Carole Upshur, EdD2, and Dharma Cortes, PhD2. (1) Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Public Policy and Public Policy Doctoral Program, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125-3393, 617 287 7631, Gonzalo.Bacigalupe@umb.edu, (2) Mauricio Gaston Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA 02125-3393

In the past two decades the US has experienced an explosion in immigration and migration on the scale of the early part of the 20th century. The majority of new immigrants are from Latin American and Asian, cultures where health care access and service delivery, both historically and currently, are very different from the US. In an attempt to meet the health care needs of this population, publicly funded programs, and increasingly private insurers, have had to address cultural and linguistic diversity to the extent never before. The study reports results of focus groups conducted among Latino Medicaid consumers who migrated/immigrated from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Central America concerning their perceptions of health care services, their views about use of services, and their reports about their interactions with the health care system, including a comparison of their experiences in the US and their home country. In particular, the groups focused on decisions to seek care, preferred places to seek care, definitions of what good medical care is, and discordance that occurred between consumer preferences and health system requirements. A total of 12 groups, enrolling 95 consumers were conducted in 2000. Participants included parents of young children, as well as middle-aged and older adults. Consumers were recruited through word of mouth using local leaders and Latino community-based agencies. The study provides insights into policy changes that can improve utilization and access of appropriate preventive care measures, as well as chronic disease management.

Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will learn about immigrant/migrant Latino health consumers' perceptions about access and quality of health care. 2. Participants will review how the experiences of Latinos with the US health care systems may be mediated by immigrants' experiences in their countries of origin. 3. Participants will explore policy implications that ensure health care access and quality for immigrant Latinos in the Norhteast and that build on the knowledge that immigrants alreadyu have.

Keywords: Immigrants, Minority Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 129th Annual Meeting of APHA