RECORD JOURNAL

Connecticut

08/29/2008

By: David Moran

A report released by the Pew Hispanic Center May 13 found that more than one fourth of Latinos in the United States don’t have a regular doctor, troubling findings for those with chronic medical conditions, those who might suddenly become ill, or those who could benefit from early detection and continued monitoring of a medical condition.

“Nearly a fourth of Latinos have diabetes, whether they know it or not,” said Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo, co-founder of Latinos for National Health Insurance and an associate professor of Medicine and Health at Columbia University. “You see asthma a lot among young Latinos, and as they get older diabetes becomes much more prevalent among this population. These are serious health issues that need constant observation and treatment.”According to previous reports by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinos are about twice as likely as blacks, and three times as likely as whites, to lack a regular health care provider.

The report found that 50 percent of those surveyed said they were high school graduates, 30 percent were born in the United States and 45 percent responded that they did have health insurance.

“When asked why they didn’t have a regular provider, the most common answer was that people felt they just didn’t need one,” said Gretchen Livingston, senior researcher on the report, which was based on a bilingual telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of more than 4,000 Latino adults.