in pursuit of the American dream
Latinos face health problems
BY LAUREN BARTLETT
UCLA Today
While Latinos in the Los Angeles area are generally in good health
and live on average five years longer than non-Latinos in California,
UCLA researchers say they are hampered by other factors, such as
the lack of health insurance, unhealthy behaviors and limited access
to doctors.
“While Latino health is generally good, there are troubling
trends that could erode this positive profile that must be tracked,”
said David Hayes-Bautista, director of the UCLA Center for the Study
of Latino Health and Culture.
Researchers’ findings are part of “Latino Scorecard
2003, Grading the American Dream,” the first report in a five-year
project sponsored by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles to profile
the emerging Latino community in Los Angeles. While Latino health
was the focus for UCLA researchers, other academic partners —
Loyola Marymount University Center for the Study of Los Angeles,
the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at USC, Pepperdine University
and California State University Northridge — looked at housing,
education, economic development and public safety. The report, released
Oct. 30, reveals some near failing grades in areas vital to the
success of the county.
“By 2010, Latinos will make up 51% of the population —
they will become the economic foundation of our county,” said
Joseph Haggerty, president of United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
“If our public and private institutions are failing the majority,
the entire county will fail. Our ability to retain top employers
and businesses will depend on our community’s ability to produce
a large, educated workforce.”
The scorecard showed a “C” for health, “D”
for education, “C” for economic development, “D”
for housing and “C” for public safety.
For the health portion, UCLA researchers focused on four areas
— health insurance enrollment, healthy behaviors, health outcomes
and medical school enrollment. The study provided grades in each
area as a baseline.
The Latino community received an “A” when researchers
from the center looked at mortality statistics and compared them
to those of non-Hispanic whites in the L.A. area. But the ethnic
group did not fare as well when researchers looked at how many have
health insurance (D) and how many smoke, are overweight, suffer
from obesity or are physically inactive (D). Also eroding the health
picture: Many Latino communities suffer from a severe shortage of
physicians, and few Latinos are going to medical school (F). Overall,
researchers gave Latinos a “C” for health.
For the majority of Latino residents to achieve the American dream,
there needs to be greater access to health insurance, an increase
in healthy behaviors such as exercise and good nutrition, and an
increase in the number of medical school students motivated to work
in underserved areas, according to a UCLA study.
One positive aspect is health outcomes for Latinos in L.A. In
2000, the infant mortality rate for Latinos was 5.2 deaths per 1,000
live births, compared to 5.7 deaths per 1,000 births for non-Hispanic
whites. Latinos are 38% less likely to die due to heart disease,
40% less likely to die from cancer and 29% less likely to die from
stroke, compared to non-Hispanic whites. In addition, Latinos live
five years longer in California, with an average life expectancy
of 82.5 years, compared to 77.3 years for non-Latinos.
On the other hand, Latinos have the highest percentage of uninsured
in the county; more than one-third in Los Angeles County don’t
have health insurance. “The possession of health insurance
is one of the greatest facilitators of preventive checkups and access
to educational programs,” Hayes-Bautista said. “Lack
of health insurance may erode strong Latino health indicators over
time.”
Latino adults and youth also ranked the lowest in health-promoting
behaviors, compared to the county’s other major ethnic groups.
Data from 1999-2001 show that on average, 68% of Latino adults were
overweight or obese, with African-American adults close behind at
67.3%.Compare this with non-Hispanic whites, 50.5%, and Asian/Pacific
Islander adults, 37%.
And, compared with others, Latino adults in 2000-01 also showed
the highest percentage of physical inactivity. |
