Characteristics of immigrant Latino men who utilize formal healthcare services: baseline findings from the HoMBReS study

Abstract

Despite the burgeoning immigrant Hispanic/Latino community in the southeastern United States, little is known about the utilization of healthcare services by this population. We sought to identify demographic, behavioral and psychosocial characteristics of immigrant Hispanic/Latino men who report utilizing formal healthcare services. Using an interviewer-administered assessment, data were collected from a random sample of members of a multicounty adult Latino men's soccer league in North Carolina. Of the 222 participants, the mean (+/-SD) age was 29.8 +/-8.3, with a range of 18-71 years. More than half of the sample reported Mexico as their country of origin and grade < or =8 as their highest level of education. The mean length of time living in the United States was 8.8 (+/- 7.6) years. An increased likelihood of reporting having ever utilized formal healthcare services associated with decreased perceived barriers to utilization, increased acculturation, increased adherence to traditional notions of masculinity and increased coping. Effective strategies to increase the utilization of formal healthcare services among Hispanic/Latino men may include diffusing information about the availability of services and how to access services and linking healthcare utilization with positive aspects of what it means to be a man.