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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Ernest Moy, MD, MPH¹, Julia S. Holmes, PhD², Juan R. Albertorio-Diaz, MA², Jill A. Marsteller, PhD³, Catherine M. Simile, PhD⁴, Gulnur Freeman, MPA², Catharine W. Burt, EdD⁴, and Irma E. Arispe, PhD². (1) Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gather Road, Rockville, MD 20850, 301 427-1329, emoy@ahrq.gov, (2) Division of Health Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20875, (3) Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Room 433 Hampton House, Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3310 Toledo Road, Room 2115, Hyattsville, MD 20782

Americans of Hispanic descent are increasing in number in the United States and are growing in their political and economic strength as a community. But despite these advances, Hispanics in America have lower rates of insurance coverage than non-Hispanic whites, may face greater communication difficulties if their primary language is not English, and consequently may have greater unmet need for health care. This panel discussion presents findings on insurance coverage, quality of care and access to health care for Hispanics in the U.S. based on several federal data collection efforts. The first presentation highlights data from the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report, including information on the prevalence of conditions such as AIDS, receipt of recommended preventive services, and trends in disparities between Hispanics and other racial and ethnic groups. The second presentation highlights disparities in health insurance coverage and unmet need among Hispanics living on the US-side of the border with Mexico, relative to non-Hispanic whites in that area and also contrasts rates for Border-dwelling Hispanics with rates for Hispanics nationwide. The third presentation examines the use of dental services, an area often not covered by health insurance. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey, the presentation examines use and unmet dental need by Hispanic subgroup. The final presentation uses data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to examine the use of emergency department (ED) services for illness and injury related conditions, comparing Hispanics to Whites and non-Hispanic blacks. Comparing ED use for illness or injury raises questions related to the avoidability of health care use and the potential effects of insurance status.

Learning Objectives: