Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #112628

Ximena Urrutia-Rojas, RN, DrPH, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699, 817-735-0325, xurrutia@hsc.unt.edu, Guadalupe Munguia-Bayona, MD, MPH, Internal Medicine, University of North Texas Health Science Center - Fort Worth, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX, TX 76107, and Elizabeth Trevino, MPH, School of Public Health, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Boulevard, Fort Worth, TX 76107.

Because of the increased representation of the foreign born Latinos in the U.S. population, Latino immigrants are of great importance to the U.S. society and particularly the economy. Despite the fact they represent over 40% of the U.S. Latino population and play an important role in the U.S. economy, data shows that Latino immigrants have limited access to health care and face considerable financial, educational, cultural and language barriers that affect their health status, accessibility to early diagnosis, and adequate health care. Undocumented Latino immigrants are more likely to face these barriers. This report is based on a survey that assessed self-reported health problems, health status, health needs, and sociodemographic characteristics of 319 immigrants (147 undocumented and 172 documented), mostly Mexican, in Texas. Overall, less than one third of the respondents had health insurance; about one half and one third reported seeking health care and buying their medicines abroad respectively. Undocumented respondents were younger, slightly less educated and more likely to be males, had less years of U.S. residency, and less likely to speak English. They also reported lower income as compared to documented respondents. Undocumented respondents were 51% less likely to have a health provider, 72% less likely to have health insurance, and 39% less likely to seek care for their health problems in the U.S. No major differences were found in the self reported prevalence of selected diseases and health conditions among both groups. The findings of this study agree with previous studies that indicate health disparities exist between the U.S. born and the foreign born Latinos. In addition, our study shows significant health disparities between documented and documented Mexican immigrants. Proposed solutions for providing health care to this group include: health fairs, affordable health insurance programs, community health centers, and decreased restrictions for immigrant participation in federal and state programs.

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