THE HEALTH STATUS OF LATINO IMMIGRANTS IN METROPOLITAN ATLANTA: A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF LATINO IMMIGRANT HEALTH CARE SEEKING BEHAVIOR AND MEDICAL PROVIDER COMPETENCY IN TREATING NEGLECTED PARASITIC INFECTIONS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN IN THE LATINO IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY Pubblico

Tippins, Ashley Erin (2013)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/474299541?locale=it
Published

Abstract

Background. Immigration from Latin America to the United States has increased in recent years. This represents a public health concern, as new immigrants lack accessibility to healthcare services for a myriad of reasons. The public health community needs to understand factors that attribute to Latino immigrants' utilization of healthcare services to provide care for this sector of the population. Due to increased immigration rates of Latinos, diseases that were rare in the United States are increasing in prevalence as infected individuals immigrate from endemic regions in Latin America. Medical providers who treat immigrant Latinos need to be able to recognize these infectious diseases, as the health burden increases with immigration increase.

Goal. There exists a need to understand Latino immigrant health-seeking behavior and how well medical providers can recognize neglected parasitic infections in Latino immigrant populations. To address these needs, the goal of this study was to model health status of Latino immigrants in the Atlanta area to identify gaps that exist in the health system that contribute to poorer health outcomes for Latino immigrants.

Methods. The results from two surveys conducted in the Atlanta metropolitan area, between March 2012 - October 2012, were analyzed to understand both Latino immigrant health-seeking behavior and the capability of medical providers in the region to recognize neglected parasitic infections.

Results. The study results suggested that Latino immigrants in Atlanta seek healthcare when pain or illness is severe enough to warrant treatment, or when obstetric care is needed. In regression analysis, the only significant factor for seeking care was age. Among medical professionals in Atlanta, knowledge of Chagas disease, cysticercosis and leishmaniasis were low, which may suggest a gap between patient care needs and the ability of medical providers to meet these needs. Overall physicians performed statistically higher on all disease components than other medical professions, suggesting an educational gap between medical profession curricula.

Discussion and Conclusion. Results from these surveys can be used to develop effective health communication tools for the Latino immigrant community and educational materials for medical providers treating this community in order to improve health outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Review of the Literature............................................................................................. 1

Introduction.............................................................................................................................................................................. 1

Barriers to Care and Consequent Health Seeking Behavior for Latino Immigrants in the United States 1

Latino Perceptions of the United States Health Care System................................................................. 8

Medical Provider Attitudes and Awareness of Neglected Infections of Poverty Among Latino Immigrants 9

Latino Immigration to the Southeastern United States........................................................................... 12

Health of Latinos in Georgia...................................................................................................................................... 14

Study Setting................................................................................................................. 16

Public Health Need....................................................................................................... 16

Goals................................................................................................................................ 17

Aims.................................................................................................................................. 17

Significance.................................................................................................................... 17

Introduction................................................................................................................. 19

Newly immigrated Latinos' barriers to care and health seeking behavior............................... 19

Medical Provider Competency in Treating Neglected Parasitic Infections.............................. 20

Methods.......................................................................................................................... 23

Study Design............................................................................................................................................................................. 23

Study Population.................................................................................................................................................................. 23

Sample Size................................................................................................................................................................................. 24

Survey Instrument............................................................................................................................................................... 25

Data Collection.................................................................................................................................................................... 25

Data Entry and Cleaning................................................................................................................................................ 26

Statistical Analysis............................................................................................................................................................ 26

Results............................................................................................................................ 30

Latino Immigrant Survey................................................................................................................................................ 30

Medical Provider Survey Results............................................................................................................................. 31

Chagas Disease Section................................................................................................................................................ 31

Cysticercosis Section...................................................................................................................................................... 34

Leishmaniasis Section................................................................................................................................................... 35

Total Score Analysis........................................................................................................................................................ 36

Discussion........................................................................................................................ 38

Latino Immigrant Health Care Seeking Indicators..................................................................................... 38

Medical Provider Knowledge of Neglected Parasitic Infections..................................................... 41

Strengths, Limitations and Future Research................................................................................................... 44

Conclusions............................................................................................................................................................................... 45

Public Health Implications....................................................................................... 46

Tables.............................................................................................................................. 48

Table 1. Selected Demographic Characteristics of Latino Immigrant Respondents............ 48

Table 2. Logistic Regression Analysis of Latino Immigrant Health Care Seeking Behavior Measured as Respondent Ever Seeking Care in Past 2 Years, by Selected Characteristics. (N=83, p<0.05)............................................................................................................ 48

Table 3. Selected Demographic Characteristics of Medical Provider Respondents............ 49

Table 4. Logistic Regression Analysis of Medical Provider Knowledge of Chagas Disease Epidemiology 50

Table 5. Logistic Regression Analysis of Medical Provider Knowledge of Cysticercosis Disease Epidemiology 51

Table 6. Logistic Regression Analysis of Medical Provider Knowledge of Leishmaniasis Disease Epidemiology 52

Table 7. Linear Regression Analysis of Total Score (continuous percentage) by Selected Characteristics (N=110, p<0.05) 53

References...................................................................................................................... 55

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