142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Means by which urban and rural Hispanics in Nebraska access health and medication information

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Melissa Leon, MPH Student , Department of Health Promotion, Social, and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Arrmando De Alba, MD, MPH , Health Promotion Social and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Denise H. Britigan, PhD, MA, CHES , Department of Health Promotion, Social, and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Elizabeth Lyden, MS , Department of Health Promotion, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Patrik Johansson, MD MPH , Department of Social and Behavioral Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Public Health, Omaha, NE
Background: According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Hispanics represent the fastest growing population group in the U.S. and Nebraska is considered among the top 10 states with the highest Hispanic population growth rate. Hispanics experience health disparities in chronic disease prevalence such as diabetes. Providing health education information can lead to improved health by increasing health knowledge, enabling people to make better informed choices and adopt healthier behaviors. However, there is limited data on how Hispanics access health and medication safety information in the Midwest. This study aims to address this gap in the literature.

Methods: A cross-sectional Spanish language survey of 401 participants measured the means by which they access health and medication information by adapting questions from previous studies conducted in the Midwest. Input from staff at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Mexican Consulate in Omaha was included in developing the questions. The sample was drawn from Spanish speaking adult Hispanics accessing community health centers in rural and urban Nebraska. Counts and percentages were used to summarize survey instrument responses.

Results: The majority (88%) of the participants indicated community health centers as the main source of seeking health information followed by family (72%), friends (54%), pharmacies (53%), and Latino stores (52%). The most trusted sources for medication information were doctors offices (47%) and pharmacies (31%).

Conclusion: The results from this study indicate that community health centers can play an important role in providing health information to Spanish speaking Hispanic patients.

Learning Areas:

Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify the means by which urban and rural Hispanics in Nebraska access health information.

Keyword(s): Health Promotion and Education, Latinos

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a second year MPH student in the Department of Health Promotion, Social, and Behavioral Health with a concentration in Community Oriented Primary Care. I served as a Spanish language interviewer in the study, which will provide a foundation for my Capstone project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5176.0: Health of Latinos across North American geographical contexts