Hispanic/Latino access to healthcare in the United States: Identifying strategies to overcome barriers

introduction:  A growing body of literature has identified several barriers to healthcare access, however, limited research exists on individuals who have overcome those barriers and successfully accessed a variety of healthcare services.  The objective of this study was to use a positive deviance approach to discover those strategies that are most effective in overcoming barriers, and to uncover the most pressing need in a South East region of the United States.

methods: Focus groups were conducted in Spanish with (N=20) Hispanic/Latino people who had received some form of healthcare within the past 12 months.   Additional focus groups and interviews were conducted with healthcare providers (N=20) on the same topic.  Themes were identified using transcriptions from the focus groups and interviews.

results: Patients and providers identified several common strategies to overcome these barriers include access to healthcare outreach providers and finding culturally competent providers who were able to provide interpreters. Additional strategies involve the use of ethnic community networks for support and assistance, and increase in community support for culturally appropriate care for free or reduced cost.

conclusion:  Effective strategies are in use by Hispanic/Latino populations to overcome barriers to access a range of healthcare services.  Additional research on culturally appropriate mental healthcare is necessary, which was identified as one of the most pressing needs for this community.