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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

DeAnne K. Hilfinger Messias, PhD RN¹, Deborah Parra-Medina, PhD, MPH², Janice C. Probst, PhD³, and Alexandra Evans, PhD². (1) College of Nursing and Women's Studies Program, University of South Carolina, 1601 Greene Street, Columbia, SC 29208, 803 777 8423, deanne.messias@sc.edu, (2) Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208, (3) University of South Carolina, South Carolina Rural Health Research Center, 220 Stoneridge Drive, Suite 204, Columbia, SC 29210

Access to healthcare is a key issue for Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) populations. As of 2002, South Carolina had the fourth fastest rate of increase in Hispanics in the nation, primarily resulting from an influx of new immigrants from Mexico and Central America. Immigrant families face multiple challenges as they attempt to understand and navigate the U.S. healthcare system. Community-based research with Hispanic immigrant women in South Carolina indicated that lack of knowledge and decision-making skills were barriers to healthcare among this population. Community-based educational interventions are promising alternative venues for enhancing the knowledge and decision-making abilities of limited English proficient women. In this presentation we present the results of culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions designed to increase the capacity of immigrant women to access the U.S. healthcare system. One program was an English-as-a Second Language curriculum and the other program was a Spanish language seminar series. The outcomes of both programs were measured as changes in levels of knowledge, self-efficacy, and healthcare utilization patterns.

Learning Objectives: