- Originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee) September 19, 2004
Copyright 2004 Chattanooga Publishing Company
By Daniel Yee; The Associated Press
Language barriers are keeping the South's growing Hispanic communities
from getting much-needed medical care and more interpreters are needed
in the health care system, Hispanic organizations said Friday.
Limited English language skills and the lack of Spanish-speaking health
workers have prevented many Hispanic patients from seeking appropriate
medical care, according to a survey released Friday by the National
Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.
"We're concerned about our Hispanic communities," said Janet Murguia,
executive director of the organization. "Latinos are now a core group
in the South. ... We want to make sure these emerging Latino
communities get support."
Murguia and other Hispanic officials say the reluctance of Hispanics to
seek or even trust the health care system in the South is similar to
that in other parts of the country.
The difference in the South, however, is that the Hispanic population
has exploded so quickly that health services have yet to catch up.
In Georgia, the Hispanic population grew from nearly 2 percent in 1990
to more than 5 percent in 2000. Atlanta's Hispanic population has grown
30 percent and Nashville's has grown by 21 percent during the same time
period, the organization said.
The survey, which interviewed Hispanic residents and health providers
in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee -- the states with the largest
recent growth of Hispanics -- found that Hispanic communities have very
limited sources of health information.
Health
officials do not always target Spanish-language media and Spanish radio
programs with "doctores" -- who promote unregulated health remedies --
which can be a community's only source of health information, said
Andrea Bazan Manson of the North Carolina-based El Pueblo, which serves
Hispanic communities.
The
reluctance of patients to seek early health care combined with often
inaccurate information can mean patients end up seeking treatment too
late, Manson said.
Health departments need more campaigns to educate Hispanics about
health issues and medical schools should offer courses so doctors can
understand the Hispanic culture better, the organization recommended.
Box if needed
ON THE NET
National Council of La Raza:
http://www.nclr.org