Oral

Despite progress in the overall health of Americans, research findings demonstrate that disparities across ethnic and socioeconomic groups in healthcare access indicators and medical conditions remain unchanged or worsened in the Latino community. The lack of progress in addressing these differences is critical given that by 2050 one out of every four Americans will identify as Latino, since currently 32% have no health insurance and 73% have completed a high school degree. Latinos face multiple and persistent inequitable conditions in our society. Inequality in access to high quality housing and residence in hyper-segregated communities with limited education, employment, personal health care services, and recreational resources perpetuate the structural processes that maintain health and health care disparities.. Expanding and shifting the boundaries of public health research to include social determinants of health, institutional barriers, and structural inequality will enhance our understanding of health disparities among Latinos by subgroup and will promote the effective implementation of policy solutions to address the inequality in our society and create community health. Nearly 45 years ago Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said “of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” We have invited the nation's preeminent Latino leaders and scholars for this special session to provide us with a progress report, so we can advance these efforts of assuring health equity among the Latino community in an era of health reform at the national, state and local levels.

Session Objectives: 1). Describe the benefits and challenges to improving Latino Community Health. 2). Report what Latino leaders and scholars are doing to address the social determinants of health and health equity. 3). Discuss new opportunities/approaches aimed at achieving health equity for the Latino community.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)