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Making
Health Care More
Accessible for Latinas,
Latinos and their
Families
Russ Bennett is vice
president of United
Healthcare Latino Health
Solutions.
Access to health care
means not only the
ability to afford care
but also the
availability of care and
health instructions that
patients can understand.
It means being able to
use your health plan and
to get information in
your own language about
health issues and about
health insurance, when
you need it.
Health care is a noble
profession, but Latinas
and Latinos are sorely
underrepresented in this
country. While the
rapidly growing Hispanic
population has reached
over 15 percent of the
U.S., Hispanics
represent only 5 percent
of total doctors, 3.4
percent of dentists, and
2 percent of nurses. And
these numbers do not
represent how many
health professionals are
truly bilingual and
bicultural. Many Latinos
prefer to use Spanish
when dealing with
personal or complex
subjects such as health
care, and cultural
competency is also a
great help when health
professionals guide
their patients to make
lifestyle and care
decisions. |
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Although it seems
obvious, compliance with
a doctor’s or nurse’s
instructions will be
higher when the
information is delivered
in a language and format
that patients and their
families understand,
with respect for their
individuality and
dignity as human beings.
Cultural competency can
be learned, but we must
start at least with
cultural awareness in
the health professions,
so that health care
workers recognize the
way to best reach their
patients and create a
positive impact.
The patients, too, must
often learn a new and
complex, multi-layered
health system which many
people do not begin to
understand until their
hour of need. Many
Hispanics, especially
those who are foreign-born,
have learned to interact
with different health
systems in their native
countries, and need
assistance to
appropriately utilize
and navigate the health
insurance they have
purchased in the U.S.
Others put off
purchasing health
insurance, because they
believe they cannot
afford it, or they do
not understand the
critical value it has to
protect them and their
families.
The problems are clear,
and we can solve them if
we put our hearts and
minds to work to address
these and other health-related
disparities. I propose
that we do several
things to address access,
quality, usability and
affordability of health
services in this
country: Workforce
development: We must
continue to encourage
young Latinas and
Latinos, especially
those who are bilingual,
to select careers in the
health professions, as
nurses, dentists,
technicians and
physicians and in other
related disciplines. In
2006, at United Health
Group, our Foundation
granted 77 Latino Health
Scholars nationwide
scholarship awards for a
total of $200,000. This
program which began four
years ago, will continue
to select outstanding
bilingual students who
commit to taking their
health care knowledge
and skills back to serve
their communities.
Cultural awareness and
competency training for
physicians and nurses:
Health professionals who
do not have the benefit
of having grown up in a
bicultural environment
are often eager to learn
about the cultural
diversity of their
patients, in order to be
more effective and
higher quality
diagnosticians, guides
and healers. We should
encourage all physicians
and nurses to learn
about diverse patients
and how their education,
upbringing and beliefs
can affect a patient’s
acceptance or mistrust
of health care.We have
partnered with the
Office of Minority
Health of the U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services, to
disseminate their
excellent series of
online cultural
competency courses,
making them easily
accessible to
UnitedHealthcare’s
500,000 contracted
providers around the
country.
Bilingual tools and
materials for Latinas
and Latinos interested
in their health and the
health of their families:
We can provide well-designed
bilingual health
education materials in
printed form, or as
engaging interactive,
audiovisual tools,
whether online or
computer-based, so that
Hispanics can obtain
information, discuss it
with their family and
make appropriate health
care decisions. At
PacifiCare, a
UnitedHealthcare Company,
we pioneered the
development of materials
that are truly useful
for members and patients
to learn about health
issues prevalent among
Hispanics, as well as
friendly online
educational modules that
help members understand
how to navigate their
health insurance and
simplify the enrollment
process.
Tailored health care
coverage that is
designed with the Latino
family in mind: Working
closely with members,
their employers, and the
brokers and benefit
consultants that serve
them. We can design
health care plans and
insurance that address
the way Latinos access
care and that embrace
the benefits and
affordability that
Latino families request.
Based upon this concept
we have launched the
SignatureValue Advantage/Plan
Bienestar family of
products and services to
help Southern California
employers with a large
Hispanic workforce find
the health plan and the
information they need.
When it comes to serving
our Hispanic and Latino
members, at
UnitedHealthcare we have
made the commitment: we
will make quality health
care more accessible,
usable and affordable. |
