Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2007 Nov;22 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):283-8.
doi: 10.1007/s11606-007-0346-6.

Primary language and receipt of recommended health care among Hispanics in the United States

Eric M Cheng  1 , Alex Chen, William Cunningham
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Primary language and receipt of recommended health care among Hispanics in the United States

Eric M Cheng et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2007 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Disparities in health care services between Hispanics and whites in the United States are well documented.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine whether language spoken at home identifies Hispanics at risk for not receiving recommended health care services.

Design: The design of the study was cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of households.

Patients: The patients were non-Hispanic white and Hispanic adults participating in the 2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Measurements: We compared receipt of ten recommended health care services by ethnicity and primary language adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, health status, and access to care.

Results: The sample included 12,706 whites and 5,500 Hispanics. In bivariate comparisons, 57.0% of whites received all eligible health care services compared to 53.6% for Hispanics who spoke English at home, 44.9% for Hispanics who did not speak English at home but who were comfortable speaking English, and 35.0% for Hispanics who did not speak English at home and were uncomfortable speaking English (p < .001). In multivariate logistic models, compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics who did not speak English at home were less likely to receive all eligible health care services, whether they were comfortable speaking English (risk ratio [RR] 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74-0.97) or not (RR 0.84, 95% CI 0.68-0.95).

Conclusions: Speaking a language other than English at home identified Hispanics at risk for not receiving recommended health care services, whether they were comfortable in speaking English or not. Identifying the mechanism for disparities by language usage may lead to interventions to reduce ethnic disparities.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. None
    2. Long JS. Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 1997
    1. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality National Healthcare Disparities Report. Report no. 06-0017. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '15746588', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15746588/'}]}
    2. Kelley E, Moy E, Stryer D, Burstin H, Clancy C. The national healthcare quality and disparities reports: an overview. Med Care. 2005; 43:I3–18, Mar. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00491.x', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2006.00491.x'}, {'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC1924691', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1924691/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '16808783', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16808783/'}]}
    2. Ponce NA, Hays RD, Cunningham WE. Linguistic disparities in health care access and health status among older adults. J Gen Intern Med. 2006; 21:786–791, Jul. - PMC - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '12865722', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12865722/'}]}
    2. Cohen SB. Design strategies and innovations in the medical expenditure panel survey. Med Care. 2003; 41:III5–III12, Jul. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms