Perceptions of Quality and Access to Health among Latinos: Cultural Factors and their impact

Immigrants face a multitude of challenges when adjusting to the United States. They must find ways to navigate through a new environment, including finding ways to gain access to the health care system. Currently, we know disparities in quality and access to care exist. Yet there is less evidence about the health care problems that immigrant groups face and whether these problems lessen with time in the US. Longer length of stay in the United States is perceived to play a role in increasingly better experiences with healthcare among immigrants. In a national telephone survey of 8,491 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, randomly selected Latinos were questioned about the U.S. medical system and their recent experiences with healthcare. We examine the immigrant experience in four areas: (1) satisfaction with the medical care system, (2) access to healthcare, (3) barriers to healthcare (4) perceptions of health services received. Previous research suggests that length of time in the U.S. and language skills are associated with the healthcare experiences of immigrant minorities. We examine whether or not the problems initially faced by immigrants diminish the longer they are in the U.S. We also examine whether speaking English facilitates access or improves perceptions of care. Finally, we consider the extent to which immigrants arriving at younger ages report similar experiences and perceptions of care compared to immigrants arriving later in life. While Latino immigrants report challenges with access to and quality of healthcare, many problems get better with more time in the U.S. However, in some key measures of access, barriers persist over time among Latinos. This finding sheds light on future policies intended to improve healthcare access for U.S. minority populations, which must account for cultural diversity in future health policy development.