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The impact of health and health insurance literacy on access to care for Hispanic/Latino communities
Author(s) -
Edward Jean,
Morris Sarah,
Mataoui Fatma,
Granberry Phillip,
Williams Mark V.,
Torres Idali
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
public health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.471
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1525-1446
pISSN - 0737-1209
DOI - 10.1111/phn.12385
Subject(s) - health literacy , health care , public health , logistic regression , medicine , literacy , health insurance , descriptive statistics , family medicine , gerontology , health equity , environmental health , nursing , psychology , political science , pedagogy , statistics , mathematics , law
Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the impact of health literacy ( HL ) and health insurance literacy ( HIL ) on health insurance status and access to health care services for Spanish‐speaking communities living in Massachusetts. Methods A total of 139 surveys (descriptive, knowledge‐based HIL questions, and Short Assessment of Health Literacy in Spanish) and 30 semi‐structured interviews were collected and analyzed using chi‐square, Mann‐Whitney U test, and logistic regression analysis. Results The majority of participants had inadequate HL (56%) and HIL (93%). There were differences in HL scores ( t = 4.1; p < .0001) between the insured ( M = 12.3, SD = 5.7) and uninsured ( M = 7.9, SD = 6.7) and differences ( t = 1.9; p = .05) between those with adequate HIL ( M = 14.3, SD = 4.3) and inadequate HIL ( M = 10.2, SD = 6.6). Participants who were uninsured ( MW U = 37.6; p < .0001) and who had inadequate HL ( MW U = 5.2; p = .02) were more likely to have never accessed health care in the U.S. Participants who had never accessed health care were 93% less likely to be insured and those with adequate HL were three times more likely to be insured. Conclusions Health literacy and HIL are closely associated with insurance status and access to health care for Spanish‐speaking communities, indicating the need for further research and enhanced public health efforts to improve knowledge and awareness around navigating health care systems.