Health needs assessment from Charleston, South Carolina's growing Latino community

A health needs assessment from Charleston, South Carolina's growing Latino community

Background: South Carolina has the fourth fastest growing Latino population in the United States; however, few data exist on key public health indicators for its Latino residents.

Methods: A needs assessment was conducted to determine the health concerns, utilization of services, access barriers, and prevalence of disease among Charleston, South Carolina's Latino community. Self-identified Latino participants were recruited at ESL classes, churches and clinics in spring, 2006. The sample included 227 males and 261 females between the ages of 18 and 65 who completed the 25 item, self administers questionnaire in Spanish. T-tests and chi-square tests were used to test for statistical significance.

Results: The leading health concerns were Accidents/Injuries (66.3%), Diabetes (58.5%), Alcoholism (56.7%), and Addiction (45.3%). 34% lack a regular source of healthcare. High-cost (66.7%), lack of insurance (58.5%), and limited knowledge of where to receive health services (42.6%) were the leading barriers to care reported. Males were more likely than females to report they do not know where to go for services (46.3% and 38.7% respectively, p=.046). Males were also less likely to use preventative health screenings (p=.002) and know their diagnosis status for chronic diseases (p=.003).

Conclusion: These data highlight the many barriers to care and underutilization of preventative services among the growing Latino community in Charleston, South Carolina. Targeted interventions are urgently needed to reduce barriers and address the population's leading health concerns.