Perceived general, mental, and physical health of Latinos in the United States following adoption of immigrant-inclusive state-level driver’s license policies: a time-series analysis

Journal article

Latinx/é individuals are disproportionately affected by lack of access to healthcare which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These barriers have resulted in worse health outcomes, especially for Latinx/é immigrants. The present study used a mixed-methods design to determine what barriers exist for the Latinx/é community when accessing healthcare in a post-COVID-19 era, where telehealth services have changed the way individuals receive healthcare. A convergent mixed-methods design that includes qualitative interviews and published surveys that assess healthcare access with Latinx/é individuals with experience in the healthcare system was employed to assess this question. Results of this study showed that there are still several barriers that exist for the Latinx/é immigrant population when accessing healthcare. Barriers included: insurance, cost, accessing specialist care, wait times/availability, lack of information/education and technology. However, results also highlighted facilitators to accessing healthcare as well, some of which, depending on context, overlapped as a barrier as well. Facilitators included: Community, insurance, information/education and technology. Implications from this study are discussed for healthcare providers to improve healthcare practice, to better inform immigration policy and to ultimately reduce the barriers that have hindered Latinx/é immigrant community’s access to healthcare

Authors: Escalera, C; Strassle, PD; Quintero, SM; Maldonado, AI; Withrow, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• Journal: BMC Public Health
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1609-1609
• Article number: 1609
• Publication date: 2022-08-24
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-14022-x
• EISSN: 1471-2458
• ISSN: 1471-2458
• Language: English
• Keywords: Biostatistics; Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; Public health; Medicine; Environmental health; Nursing; Mental health; Geography; License; Demography; Psychiatry; Political science; Gerontology; Immigration