Abstract
BackgroundRecent research suggests that ethnic subgroup designation plays an important role in health-related disparities among Hispanics. Our objective was to examine the influence of Hispanics' self-reported ethnic subgroup designation on perceptions of their health care providers' communication behaviors.MethodsCross-sectional analysis of the 2005 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). Participants included non-institutionalized Hispanics (n = 5197; US population estimate = 27,070,906), aged ≥18 years, reporting visiting a health care provider within the past 12 months. Six (n = 6) items were used to capture respondents' perceptions of their health care providers' communication behaviors.ResultsAfter controlling for socio-demographic covariates, compared to Other Hispanics (reference group), very few differences in perceptions of health care providers communication emerged across ethnic subgroups. Puerto Ricans were more likely to report that their health care provider "always" showed respect for what they had to say (OR = 2.16, 95% CI 1.16-4.03). Both Puerto Ricans (OR = 2.28, 95% CI 1.06-4.92) and Mexicans (OR = 1.88, 95% CI 1.02-3.46) were more likely to indicate that their health care provider "always" spent enough time with them as compared to Other Hispanics.ConclusionsWe observed very few differences among Hispanics respondents in their perceived quality of interactions with health care providers as a function of their ethnic subgroup designation. While our findings somewhat contradict previous research, they do suggest that other underlying factors may influence the quality of perceived interactions with health care providers.
Highlights
Recent research suggests that ethnic subgroup designation plays an important role in health-related disparities among Hispanics
BMC Health Services Research 2009, 9:240 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/9/240 view Survey, McGruder and colleagues [3] found that Hispanics were less aware of heart attack symptoms and the need to call for emergency help if someone near them had symptoms than were whites
In a population-based study of respondents residing in ten different states, Hispanics reported receipt of fewer routine preventive services and less access to physicians as compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts [4]
Summary
Recent research suggests that ethnic subgroup designation plays an important role in health-related disparities among Hispanics. Our objective was to examine the influence of Hispanics' self-reported ethnic subgroup designation on perceptions of their health care providers' communication behaviors. In a population-based study of respondents residing in ten different states, Hispanics reported receipt of fewer routine preventive services (e.g., colorectal cancer screening and cholesterol testing) and less access to physicians (e.g., had difficulty paying for a clinical examination) as compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts [4]. Evidence suggests that ethnic minorities, including Hispanics, are more likely to report feelings of health care provider discrimination, and poorer health status as compared to non-Hispanic whites [5]. The influence of language preference--English versus Spanish--on Hispanics' perceptions of their healthcare providers' communication behaviors was examined [11]. Overwhelming, English responders were more likely to report more positive interactions with health care providers (e.g., provider "always" explained things so that they understood and "always" asked them to help make decisions) than Spanish responders
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