Utilization of Preventive and Curative Care Services among Latina Immigrants

Objective: This study examined whether differences exist in the utilization of curative and preventive care sought by Latina immigrants in the country of origin versus the U.S., and whether time in the U.S. is associated with preventive and curative care utilization.

Methods/Results: In a sample of 206 Latina immigrants who had been living in the U.S. an average of 52.4 months (SD=47.2); 37 months (SD=34.8) in Birmingham, AL; and had a mean age of 28 years (SD=6.3), Fisher's Exact tests showed that there was a statistically significant difference between seeking curative care (p=0.0117) and preventive care (p=0.0412) in the country of origin versus the US. Relying on home remedies was a reason for not seeking curative care in the country of origin (64.1%); lack of health insurance (76.3%), cost (75.5%), and not speaking English (55.9%) were cited as reasons in the U.S. Reasons for not seeking preventive care in the country of origin included use of home remedies (80.8%) and procrastination (64.6%); in the U.S., reasons included cost (82.6%), lack of health insurance (79.7%), not speaking English (72.5%), and use of home remedies (50.7%). There was also a significant association between seeking preventive care in the U.S. and time in the U.S. (p<0.0001).

Conclusions: Barriers in the home country appear to be inter/intrapersonal, whereas barriers in the U.S. appear to be due to structural/environmental factors. These results indicate that preventive and curative care seeking behaviors may be different in the country of origin versus the U.S. among Latina immigrants.