Latino Health

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Latino Health
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CDC Information

• Latino Population

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Latino Health Access

• America Speaks

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Nutrition-Related Diseases

• Nutrients found to be deficient in the diet of
  persons of Mexican descent include vitamin A,
  folacin, vitamin C, iron and calcium.
• In Texas it is found that Hispanics consume a
  high diet of fats and cholesterol
• (Found equal between males and females.)

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What Clinical Studies Found

• Overweight
• Obesity
• Diabetes

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Obesity

• Tend to be higher among Hispanic women than men
• 39 of women are over weight and 16 or severly
  obese
• Higher in
• Mexican -American
• Puerto Rican
• Cubian

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• Only black women have a higher levels of obesity
  than those found in women in the Hispanic
  population.

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Diabetes

• Non-insulin diabetes is prevalent in Hispanic
  population
• Mexican-American are 2 to 4 times more times
  likely to suffer non-insulin diabetes

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• Within the Hispanic population, diabetes is not
  related sole to weight.

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Children

• Research has consistently shown that Hispanic
  children are shorter but relatively heavier than
  non-Hispanic children.

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Socio-Economic Status (SES)

• Hispanics children with low SES have lower
  stature but higher fat accumulation.
• The pattern decreases with children in families
  with higher SES

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Food History

• Latino ancestors
• Had a large diversity of foods which were
  domesticated and used for human consumption.
• Vegetable and Fruits.
• Corn, beans, squash,tomatoes, chocolate, chilies,
  sweet potatoes, and greens
• Mamey, chirimoya, zapotes, guanabana, tuna,
  pitaya, jicama, papaya.

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Spaniards

• Food introduction
• Wheat, pastas,rice,barley,olives,citrus
  fruits,almonds,beef,mutton,sugar cane, hogs.

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French

• Food introduction 1860
• Bread and pastries

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Today

• Food that are common place
• Fideo, spaghetti, macaroni, mole poblano (sauce)
• It is a blend of several different cultures.

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Changing Diets

• The highly Sensitive foodstuff in relationship to
  change.
• Traditional
• Sweet bread, lard, soup of pasta, Mexican
  cream,fruit flavored water, boiled bean
• Non-Traditional
• White bread, margarine, breakfast cereals,
  vegetable salad, salad dressing, mayonnaise,
  flour tortillas, oil, and Kool Aid

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Non-Changes

• Licuado (Fruit based drink), corn tortilla, green
  salsa,red cooked salsa, cinnamon tea, fried
  tacos, meat cooked with vegetable, rice cooked
  with tomatoes, milk gelatin, fruit salad, and meat

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Desiese

• AIDS/HIV

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AIDS/HIV

• October 15th 2004 is National Latino AIDS
  Awareness Day and it marks the last day of
  Hispanic Heritage month.
• Overall, Hispanics/Latinos represent an estimated
  20 of new HIV infections.  While
  Hispanics/Latinos make up 13 of the U.S.
  population, they account for 18 of all AIDS
  cases ever reported, 17 of all AIDS deaths ever
  reported, 20 of all new HIV infections estimated
  to occur among men, and 18 of all new HIV
  infections estimated to occur among women.

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Latino Health Part 2
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Terminology
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Naturalistic Disease Theories

• Explanations of illness that attributes cause to
  natural forces or conditions suah as heat, cold,
  dampness, etc.

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Supernatural Disease Theories

• Explanations of illness that attributes cause to
  supernatural agents.

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Magical beliefs

• Harnessing power that cannot be verified through
  scientific means, that can be used to heal or
  harm.

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Scientific Disease Theories

• Naturalistic explanations of diseases through
  using scientific methods.

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Disease of Civilization

• Illnesses caused by the lifestyles associated
  with modern civilization.

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• People migrate from Mexico (and other Latin
  American countries) to the United States for a
  number of reasons, including
• Many Mexicans are poor and there is little
  likelihood of improving their economic status in
  Mexico. There are an estimated 98,000,000 people
  living in Mexico and of these, about 66 live in
  poverty. While the Mexican economy has grown in
  recent years, buying power has shrunk 80 since
  1976 and inflation continues to increase at a
  faster rate than wages (CIA, 1998 Rangel, 1999).

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• Hispanics encountered in health care settings and
  elsewhere range from physicians with postgraduate
  degrees and born in the U.S. to uneducated,
  non-English speaking peasants who arrived in the
  U.S. last week.

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• Verbal and nonverbal communications from
  Hispanics usually are characterized by respeto
  (respect) and communications to Hispanics should
  also be respectful. There is an element of
  formality in Hispanic interactions, especially
  when older persons are involved.

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• Over-familiarity, physical (touch by strangers)
  or verbal (casual use of first names), is not
  appreciated early in relationships. It is
  uncommon for Hispanics to be aggressive or
  assertive in health care interactions.
• Direct eye contact is less among Hispanics that
  among Anglos. Direct disagreement with a provider
  uncommon the usual response to a decision with
  which the patient or family disagrees is silence
  and noncompliance.

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• The use of interpreters is often necessary, and
  ideally these should be of the same gender.
• Family members or friends are sometimes pressed
  into service as translators, but this may result
  in problems (personal, sexual, etc.) not brought
  up.
• The use of family or friends to interpret also
  presents difficulty in communicating and
  assessing the accuracy of vital communications
  such as medication regimes, side effects the
  patient must understand, and informed consents.

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Authority

• The father or oldest male (direct relative) holds
  the greatest power in most families and may make
  health decisions for others in the family. Men
  are expected to provide for and be in charge of
  their families.

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• Most Hispanics are Roman Catholics and the faith
  and church often are involved in day to day
  family and community life, with activities
  throughout the week and all day Sunday.
• Spiritual and religious influences play a major
  role in health, illness, and daily life.

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• Catholicism, is a concurrent belief in and use of
  magico-religious means of dealing with life.
  Candles with pictures of saints are found in many
  homes and are often part of altars in the living
• Each saint has a specialized as well as general
  religious function.
• The saint associated with cancer is St. Peregrine
• with dying is St. Joseph
• with bodily ills is Our Lady of Lourdes

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• "Hot" and "cold" are intrinsic properties of
  various substances and conditions, and there are
  sometimes differences of opinion about what is
  "hot," what is "cold."
• In general, cold diseases/conditions are
  characterized by vasoconstriction and low
  metabolic rate. "Cold" diseases/conditions
  include menstrual cramps, pneumonia, and colic.
• "Hot" diseases/conditions are characterized by
  vasodilation and high metabolic rate. Pregnancy,
  hypertension, diabetes, acid indigestion, are
  examples of hot conditions.

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• "Cold" conditions are treated with "hot"
  medications and "hot" with "cold" medications,
  thus bringing the individual back into balance.
• Problems that are primarily spiritual in nature
  are treated with prayer and ritual. However, few
  Hispanics who use folk means of treating illness
  are troubled by simultaneously using cosmopolitan
  treatments such as antibiotics.

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• medications, including prescription, are shared
  within social networks.
• There are instances in which a sick person may
  simultaneously be using prayer, folk and/or
  herbal medicine, prescription medications
  obtained from a friend, and prescription
  medications prescribed by a nurse practitioner or
  physician.
• Regardless of the source of care, the patient
  (and family) are likely to include faith in God
  as a vital component of understanding of the
  problem and the cure.

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Folk Remedies