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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Julia S. Holmes, PhD¹, Ernest Moy, MD, MPH², and Irma E. Arispe, PhD¹. (1) Division of Health Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20875, 301 458-4698, JSHolmes@cdc.gov, (2) Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 540 Gather Road, Rockville, MD 20850

This presentation highlights findings from the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) on healthcare access and quality of care received by Hispanics in the United States. The NHDR is an annual report to Congress designed to provide an overview of disparities in health care among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups in the US and within certain priority populations. The NHDR is also charged with monitoring change over time to determine whether disparities in healthcare are getting better, getting worse, or staying the same.

The 2005 NHDR documents significant disparities in access and health care quality experienced by Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics often face initial barriers in gaining access to health care given low levels of health insurance coverage and communication difficulties among those whose primary language is not English. Only sixty-five percent of Hispanics are covered by health insurance, Hispanics are 2 times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to report not receiving care for illness/injury as soon as wanted, and 1.8 times more likely to report children's problems in patient-provider communication.

Access problems combined with the need for effective medical management of chronic conditions such as diabetes can lead to sub-optimal quality of care. For example, Hispanics with diagnosed diabetes are less likely than non-Hispanic blacks or non-Hispanic whites to have received all three recommended services for diabetics and hospital admissions for uncontrolled diabetes without complications are higher for Hispanics than non-Hispanic whites. Moreover, the age-adjusted death rate from diabetes is 1.6 times higher among Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic whites.

These and other findings related to health care experienced by Hispanics in the US based on data from the 2005 NHDR will be discussed in this portion of the panel presentation. In addition we will include information on trends from the NHDR to illustrate areas where health care has improved for Hispanics, as well as examples where access and quality of care have worsened for Hispanics in the United States.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss disparities in the quality of health care received by Hispanics.
• Discuss disparities in access to health care encountered by Hispanics.

Keywords: Hispanic, Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered