This study analyzes disparities in selected health indicators for Latinas when compared to non-Latina Whites, and other population groups in the United States, and as available in Mexico. A review and secondary analyses of government and other data were conducted as an extension of previous research. Data revealed that the population of Latinas, although youthful on average, are composed of an increasingly large group of poor women who in their middle years (45-64), and in rural communities, display high cardiac risk, high rates of diabetes, and cervical cancer. This picture calls for special attention, in particular to Latinas without health insurance. Further research, policies that protect women’s health, and culturally competent prevention services are needed to address these health disparities and the complexities of Latina health in California.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Cancer Society
. (1989). Cancer and the poor: A report to the nation. Atlanta, GA: Author.
2.
Baezconde-Garbanati, L. A. (1994). Do Latino social nets work? The direct and mediating effects of social resources on stressful life events and depression among Mexican, Mexican Americans, and Non-Latino Whites. Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
3.
Baezconde-Garbanati, L. A.
, Garbanati, J. A., Portugal, C., Lopez, R., Flores, A., & Sisneros, H. (in press). Entering a new era: Strategies of the H/LaTEN for organizing and mobilizing Hispanic communities. In M. L. Frost (Ed.), Successful tobacco education and prevention programs. San Francisco: Charles C Thomas.
4.
Baezconde-Garbanati, L.
, Kerner, J., Richardson, J., & Cantero, P. (1995). Breast cancer among Latinas. Los Angeles: COSSMHO and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.
5.
Brown, E. R., Pourta, N., Wyn, R., & Solis, B. (1997). 38% de los Latinos de edades 0-64 en California no tienen aseguranza (Policy Brief, August). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Policy Research.
6.
Brown, E.
, Wallace, S., Pourta, N., & Yu, H. (1998, October). New estimates find 400,000 children eligible for healthy families program (policy brief). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Health Policy Research.
7.
California Department of Education
, Educational Demographic Unit: California Basis Educational Data System (CBEDS) (1995). Percent enrollment and drop out rates in California public high schools, Grades 9-12, 1994-1995 (electronic data tape). Sacramento, CA: Author (Producer and Distributor).
8.
California Department of Finance
. (1997, April). Interim county population projections. (electronic data tape). Sacramento, CA: Author (Producer and Distributor).
9.
California Department of Finance, Demographics Research Unit
. (1993). 1989-1996 projected population (electronic data tape). Sacramento, CA: Author (Producer and Distributor).
10.
California Department of Health Services
, Office of Women’s Health. (1997). A profile of women’s health status in California, 1984-1994 (technical report). Sacramento, CA: Author.
11.
California Department of Health Services, Planning and Data Analysis Section
. (1994). Death files (electronic data tape). Sacramento, CA: CA Author.
12.
California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section
. (1998). California youth smoking prevalence by gender, 1990-1997, California Tobacco Survey and California Youth Tobacco Survey, 1994-1997 (fact sheet report of the University of California, San Diego). Sacramento, CA: Author.
13.
California Employment Development Department (CEDD)
. (1995). Table 12: States, employment status of the civilian non institutional population by sex, age, race, latino origin and marital status, 1995 annual averages. Labor and occupation by industry (electronic data tape). Sacramento, CA: Employment Development Department.
14.
Cantero, P.
, Richardson, J., Baezconde-Garbanati, L. A., & Marks, M. (in press). The association between acculturation and health practices among middle-aged and elderly Latinas. Journal of Ethnicity and Disease, 9(2).
15.
Carasquillo, O.
, Hammelstein, D., Woolhandler, S., & Bor, D. (1999). Going bare: Trends in health insurance coverage. 1989 through 1996. American Journal of Public Health, 89(1), 36-42.
16.
Cardiovascular Disease Outreach, Resources and Epidemiology (CORE) Program
, University of California San Francisco, & California Department of Health Services (1998). In Gazzaniga, J., Kao, C., Cowling, D., Fox, P. (Eds.), Cardiovascular disease risk factors among CA adults, 1984-1996 (Report. No. 5), Sacramento, CA: California Department of Health Services.
17.
Cassidy, D.
, Jang, V., Park Tanjasiri, S., & Morrison, C. (1999). California gets “On the Move!”Journal of Health Education, 30(2, Supp.), 6-12.
18.
Castro, F. G.
, & Baezconde-Garbanati, L. (1987). A schema for greater specificity in sampling from Latino populations. Paper presented at the convention of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA.
19.
Castro, V.
, Gómez-Dantés, H., Negrete-Sánchez, J., Tapia-Conyer, R. (1996). Las enfermedades crónicas en las personas de 60-69 anos. Salud Pública de México, 38, 438-447.
20.
De la Torre, A.
, Friis, R., Hunter, H. R., & Garcia, L. (1996). The health insurance status of US Latina women: A profile from the 1982-1984 Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES). American Journal of Public Health, 86(4), 533-537.
21.
Durazo Communications
(1998). Community assessment work book for the Hispanic Latino Tobacco Education Network. Los Angeles: Author.
22.
Golding, J.
, & Baezconde-Garbanati, L. (1990). Ethnicity, culture and social resources. Journal of Community Psychology, 18(3), 465-486.
23.
Grassi, K.
, Gonzalez, M. G., Tello, P., & He, G. (1999). La Vida Caminando: A community based physical activity program designed by and for rural Latino families. Journal of Health Education, 30(2, Supp.), 13-17.
24.
Hayes-Bautista, D. E. (1990a). Latino family policy: An explanatory framework from California Unpublished manuscript.
25.
Hayes-Bautista, D. E. (1990b). Latino health indicators and the underclass model: From paradox to new policy models. Unpublished manuscript.
26.
Hayes-Bautista, D. E.
(1997). The health status of Latinos in California. Los Angeles: The California Endowment and California Health Care Foundation, Center for the Study of Latino Health report.
27.
Hayes-Bautista, D.
, Baezconde-Garbanati, L., & Hayes-Bautista, M. (1994). Latino health in Los Angeles. Family Practice-An International Journal, 11, 318-324.
28.
Hayes-Bautista, D. E.
, Baezconde-Garbanati, L. A., Schink, W., & Hayes-Bautista, M. (1994). Latino Health in California, 1985-1990. Implications for Family Practice. Journal of Family Medicine, 26, 556-562.
29.
Kaiser Permanente Diversity Council
(1996). A provider’s handbook on culturally competent care: Latino population. Los Angeles: Author
30.
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC)
. (1999). Ensuring health access for Latinas (report of the Latina Health Policy Project). San Francisco: Author.
31.
Los Angeles County Commission for Women
. (1998). Los Angeles County Women’s Health Policy Summit (report of the Los Angeles Connate Commission for Women). Los Angeles: Author.
32.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
. (1997). Distribution of births by race/ethnicity, 1995 (advanced report of Los Angeles County, CA vital statistics, 1995), Los Angeles: Department of Health Services.
33.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
. (1999a). An epidemiologic profile of HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles: Author.
34.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
(1999b). HIV testing and sexual risk behaviors among adults in Los Angeles county. L.A. Health, 2(1), 1-7.
35.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, HIV Epidemiology Program
. (1999c). An epidemiologic profile of HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles: Author.
36.
Marin, G.
, Marin, B. V., Otero-Sabogal, R., Sabogal, F., & Perez-Stable, E. (1989). The role of acculturation on the attitudes, norms and expectancies of Hispanic smokers. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 20, 478-493.
37.
Marin, G.
, Perez-Stable, E., & VaNoss Marin, B. (1989). Cigarette Smoking among San Francisco Hispanics: The role of acculturation and gender. American Journal of Public Health, 79(2), 196-198.
38.
Marin, G.
, & VanOss Marin, M. B. (1991). Research with Hispanic populations. Applied Social Research Methods Services, 23. Newbury, CA: Sage.
39.
McWhorter, W.
, & Mayer, W. (1987). Black/White differences in type of initial breast cancer treatment and implications for survival. American Journal of Public Health, 77(12), 1515-1517.
40.
Morrison, C.
, Cassady, D., Deeds, S., Baezconde-Garbanati, L. A., Tanjasiri, S. P., & Davis, T. M. (Eds.). (1999). California is “on the move” (Special issue). Journal of Health Education, 30(Suppl. 2).
41.
Pierce, J. P.
, Gilpin, E. A., Emery, S. L., Farkas, A. J., Zhu, S. H., Choi, W. S., Berry C., et al. (1998). Tobacco control in California: Who’s winning the war? An evaluation of the Tobacco Control Program, 1989-1996 (Independent Evaluation report). La Jolla: University of California, San Diego.
42.
Powell, K.
, & Blair, S. N. (1994). The public health burdens of sedentary living habits. Theoretical but realistic estimates. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 26, 851-856.
43.
Rodriguez-Trias, H.
, (1999, January). Latina Health Access (Testimony before the California Senate Health Committee for the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Sacramento, CA. Available from the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, 1535 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103).
44.
Salgado de Snyder, N. V.
, & Padilla, A. M. (1987). Social support networks: Their availability and effectiveness. In M. Gaviria & J. D. Arana (Eds.), Health and behavior: Research agenda for Hispanics. Chicago: University of Illinois at Chicago.
45.
Secretaría de Gobernación. (1996). Programa Nacional de la Mujer, 1995-2000. Estados Unidos Mexicanos: Alianza Para la Igualdad, Poder Ejecutivo Federal [Online]. Available: http://www.sdnp.undp.org/ww/followup/national/mexico.htm
46.
U.S. Bureau of the Census
. (1996). Population Projections for states by age, sex, race and Latino origin 1995-2025 (Report PPL-47). Hyattsville, MD: Author.
47.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service
. (1997, April). Progress review: Hispanic Americans. Healthy people 2000. Hyattsville, MD: Author.
48.
Vega, W. A.
, Kolody, B., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alderete, E., Catalano, R., & Caraveo-Anduaga, J. (1998). Lifetime prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders among urban and rural Mexican Americans in California. Archives of General Psychiatry, 55(9), 771-778.
49.
Weissman, J. S.
, & Epstein, Al. (1994). Falling through the safety net. Insurance status and access to health care. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
50.
Whitehorse, L. E.
, Manzano, R., Baezconde-Garbanati, L. A., & Hahn, G. (1999). Culturally tailoring a physical activity program for Hispanic women: Recruitment successes of La Vida Buena’s Salsa Aerobics. Journal of Health Education, 30 (Suppl. 2), S18-S24.
51.
Winkleby, M. A.
, Kraemer, H. C., Ahn, D. K., & Varady, A. N., (1998). Ethnic and socioeconomic differences in cardiovascular disease risk factors. Findings for Women from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Journal of the American Medical Association, 280(4), 356-362.
52.
Wyn, R.
, Leslie, J., Glick, D., & Solis, B. (1997, August). Low income women and managed care in California (Policy Brief). Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles: Center for Health Policy Research.
53.
Zambrana, R.
(1990, September). Changing characteristics of patient populations in Los Angeles: The growth of Latino families. Paper presented at the Valley Presbyterian Hospital Conference, Van Nuys, CA.
54.
Zambrana, R.
, Dunkel-Schetter, C., & Scrimshaw, S. (1991). Factors which influence the use of prenatal care in low income minority women in Los Angeles. Journal of Community Health, 16(5), 283-295.
