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. 2016 Dec 7:37:31.
doi: 10.1186/s40985-016-0043-2. eCollection 2016.

Hispanic health in the USA: a scoping review of the literature

Eduardo Velasco-Mondragon  1 , Angela Jimenez  2 , Anna G Palladino-Davis  3 , Dawn Davis  4 , Jose A Escamilla-Cejudo  5
Affiliations

Hispanic health in the USA: a scoping review of the literature

Eduardo Velasco-Mondragon et al. Public Health Rev. .

Abstract

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the USA. They contribute to the economy, cultural diversity, and health of the nation. Assessing their health status and health needs is key to inform health policy formulation and program implementation. To this end, we conducted a scoping review of the literature and national statistics on Hispanic health in the USA using a modified social-ecological framework that includes social determinants of health, health disparities, risk factors, and health services, as they shape the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. These social, environmental, and biological forces have modified the epidemiologic profile of Hispanics in the USA, with cancer being the leading cause of mortality, followed by cardiovascular diseases and unintentional injuries. Implementation of the Affordable Care Act has resulted in improved access to health services for Hispanics, but challenges remain due to limited cultural sensitivity, health literacy, and a shortage of Hispanic health care providers. Acculturation barriers and underinsured or uninsured status remain as major obstacles to health care access. Advantageous health outcomes from the "Hispanic Mortality Paradox" and the "Latina Birth Outcomes Paradox" persist, but health gains may be offset in the future by increasing rates of obesity and diabetes. Recommendations focus on the adoption of the Health in All Policies framework, expanding access to health care, developing cultural sensitivity in the health care workforce, and generating and disseminating research findings on Hispanic health.

Keywords: Health care access; Health care inequalities; Hispanics; Latinos; Scoping study; Social determinants of health.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A framework to analyze Hispanic health in the USA
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Literature review flowchart
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Percentage of Hispanic population in 2010. Source: [178]
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Percentage of Hispanic population growth 2000–2010. Source: [178, 179]
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Percentage of diagnosed diabetes by ethnicity in people aged 20 years or older for the period 2010–2012. *Age-adjusted based on the 2000 US standard population. Source: [97]
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Percentage of diagnosed diabetes by Hispanic subgroups 2010–2012. *Age-adjusted based on the 2000 US standard population. Source: [97]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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