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This study determines asthma-related health care access and utilization patterns for Latino children of Puerto Rican and Dominican origin residing in Rhode Island (RI) and Latino children residing in Puerto Rico (Island). Data included 804 families of children with persistent asthma recruited from clinics. Island children were less likely to receive regular asthma care and care from a consistent provider and more likely to have been to the emergency department and hospitalized for asthma than RI children. Island children were 2.33 times more likely to have used the emergency department for asthma compared with RI non-Latino White (NLW) children. Latino children residing in both Island and RI were less likely to have used specialty care and more likely to have had a physician visit for asthma in the past year than RI NLW children. The differences might reflect the effects of the different delivery systems on pediatric health care utilization and asthma management.

Summary

Objective

Disparities in asthma outcomes exist between Latino and non-Latino white (NLW) children. We examined rates of medication use, medication beliefs, and perceived barriers to obtaining medication in US and island Puerto Rican parents of children with asthma

Hypotheses

Island PR parents would report the lowest rates of controller medication use, followed by RI Latino and RI NLW parents; Latino parents would report more medication concerns than NLW parents; and Island PR parents would report the most barriers to medication use.

Study Design

Five hundred thirty families of children with persistent asthma participated, including 231 Island PR, 111 RI NLW, and 188 RI Latino. Parents completed survey measures.

Results

Group differences were found on reported use of ICS (X2 = 50.96, P <0.001), any controller medication (X2 = 56.49, P <0.001), and oral steroids (X2 = 10.87, P <0.01). Island PR parents reported a greater frequency of barriers to medication use than the other two groups (X2 = 61.13, P <0.001). Latino parents in both sites expressed more medication concerns than NLW parents (F = 20.18, P <0.001). Medication necessity was associated with ICS use in all three groups (all P’s <0.01). Medication concerns were positively associated with ICS use in PR only (OR = 1.64, P <0.05).

Conclusions

Differences in medication beliefs and the ability to obtain medications may explain the reported disparity in controller medication use. Further studies are needed to evaluate these obstacles to medication use.

Summary

Background

Epidemiologic studies have documented higher rates of asthma prevalence and morbidity in minority children compared to non-Latino white (NLW) children. Few studies focus on the mechanisms involved in explaining this disparity, and fewer still on the methodological challenges involved in rigorous disparities research.

Objectives and Methods

This article provides an overview of challenges and potential solutions to research design for studies of health disparities. The methodological issues described in this article were framed on an empirical model of asthma health disparities that views disparities as resulting from several factors related to the healthcare system and the individual/community system. The methods used in the Rhode Island–Puerto Rico Asthma Center are provided as examples, illustrating the challenges in executing disparities research.

Results

Several methods are described: distinguishing ethnic/racial differences from methodological artifacts, identifying and adapting culturally sensitive measures to explain disparities, and addressing the challenges involved in determining asthma and its severity in Latino and other minority children. The measures employed are framed within each of the components of the conceptual model presented.

Conclusions

Understanding ethnic and/or cultural disparities in asthma morbidity is a complicated process. Methodologic approaches to studying the problem must reflect this complexity, allowing us to move from documenting disparities to understanding them, and ultimately to reducing them.

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between child and parent somatic symptom reporting and pediatric asthma morbidity in Latino and non-Latino white children.

Method

The study consists of 786 children, 7 to 15 years of age, in Rhode Island (RI) and Puerto Rico. Children’s and parents’ levels of general somatic symptoms were assessed with well-established self-report measures. Clinician-determined asthma severity was based on reported medication use, asthma symptom history, and spirometry results. Asthma-related health care use and functional morbidity was obtained via parent self-report.

Results

Child and parent reports of general somatic symptoms were significantly related to pediatric asthma functional morbidity when controlling for poverty, parent education, child’s age, and asthma severity. In controlling for covariates, Latino children in RI reported higher levels of somatic symptoms than Island Puerto Rican children, and RI Latino parents reported more somatic symptoms than RI non-Latino white parents (p < .05).

Conclusions

This study replicates and extends to children in previous research showing higher levels of symptom reporting in Latinos relative to whites. Results also provide new insight into the relation between general somatic symptom reports and pediatric asthma. Ethnic differences in somatic symptom reporting may be an important factor underlying asthma disparities between Latino and non-Latino white children.

Background and Objective:

This study examined belief systems of Latino caregivers who have children with asthma from Puerto Rican and Dominican backgrounds who resided on the Island of PR and the Mainland. The goal of this study was to document similarities and differences in beliefs about the causes, symptoms and treatments of asthma across two sites and two Latino ethnic sub-groups of children who remain the most at risk for asthma morbidity.

Methods:

Participants included 100 primary caregivers of a child with asthma. Fifty caregivers from Island PR and fifty caregivers from mainland RI were interviewed (at each site, 25 caregivers were from Puerto Rican backgrounds and 25 caregivers were from Dominican backgrounds). The interview included an assessment of demographic information and beliefs about the causes and symptoms of asthma, and asthma practices.

Results:

Results indicated more similarities in beliefs about the causes and symptoms of asthma across site and ethnic group. The majority of differences were among beliefs about asthma practices by site and ethnic group. For example, a higher proportion of caregivers from Island PR, particularly those of Dominican descent, endorsed that a range of home and botanical remedies are effective for treating asthma.

Conclusions:

Results from this study point to several interesting directions for future research including larger samples of Latino caregivers with children who have asthma. A discussion of the importance of understanding cultural beliefs about asthma and asthma practices is also reviewed.

Latino and African American children with asthma are at increased risk for asthma morbidity compared with non–Latino White children. Environmental control (ie, environmental exposures and family strategies to control them) may contribute to greater asthma morbidity for ethnic minority children living in urban environments. This study examined ethnic differences in a semi-structured assessment of environmental control, associations between environmental control and asthma outcomes (asthma control, functional limitation, and emergency department [ED] use), and ethnic differences in environmental triggers in a sample of urban Latino, African American, and non–Latino White families. One hundred thirty-three children (6–13 years of age) and their caregivers completed demographic questionnaires, measures of asthma control and morbidity, and a semi-structured interview assessing environmental control. Reported environmental control differed significantly by ethnicity (P<0.05), with Latino families reporting higher levels of environmental control. Reported environmental control was significantly associated with asthma control (P<0.017) and functional limitation (P<0.017). Reported environmental control and ED use were significantly associated in Latino families (P<0.05). Non–Latino White and African American families reported more secondhand smoke exposure than Latino families (P<0.001). Latino families reported more optimal home environmental control than other ethnic groups. Substantial ethnic differences in asthma triggers suggest that observed ethnic disparities in asthma may be due, at least in part, to differences in the home environment.

The objective of this study was to examine associations between specific dimensions of the multidimensional cumulative risk index (CRI) and asthma morbidity in urban, school-aged children from African American, Latino and Non-Latino White backgrounds. An additional goal of the study was to identify the proportion of families that qualify for high-risk status on each dimension of the CRI by ethnic group. A total of 264 children with asthma, ages 7–15 (40% female; 76% ethnic minority) and their primary caregivers completed interview-based questionnaires assessing cultural, contextual, and asthma-specific risks that can impact asthma morbidity. Higher levels of asthma-related risks were associated with more functional morbidity for all groups of children, despite ethnic group background. Contextual and cultural risk dimensions contributed to more morbidity for African-American and Latino children. Analyses by Latino ethnic subgroup revealed that contextual and cultural risks are significantly related to more functional morbidity for Puerto Rican children compared to Dominican children. Findings suggest which type of risks may more meaningfully contribute to variations in asthma morbidity for children from specific ethnic groups. These results can inform culturally sensitive clinical interventions for urban children with asthma whose health outcomes lag far behind their non-Latino White counterparts.

Background

The lifetime prevalence of self-reported asthma among Puerto Ricans is very high, with increased asthma hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and mortality rates. Differences in asthma severity between the mainland and island, however, remain largely unknown.

Objective

We sought to characterize differences in asthma severity and control among 4 groups: (1) Island Puerto Ricans, (2) Rhode Island (RI) Puerto Ricans, (3) RI Dominicans, and (4) RI whites.

Methods

Eight hundred five children aged 7 to 15 years completed a diagnostic clinic session, including a formal interview, physical examination, spirometry, and allergy testing. Using a visual grid adapted from the Global Initiative for Asthma, asthma specialists practicing in each site determined an asthma severity rating. A corresponding level of asthma control was determined by using a computer algorithm.

Results

Island Puerto Ricans had significantly milder asthma severity compared with RI Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and whites (P < .001). Island Puerto Ricans were not significantly different from RI whites in asthma control. RI Puerto Ricans showed a trend toward less control compared with island Puerto Ricans (P = .061). RI Dominicans had the lowest rate of controlled asthma. Paradoxically, island Puerto Ricans had more emergency department visits in the past 12 months (P < .001) compared with the 3 RI groups.

Conclusions

Potential explanations for the paradoxic finding of milder asthma in island Puerto Ricans in the face of high health care use are discussed. Difficulties in determining guideline-based composite ratings for severity versus control are explored in the context of disparate groups.

Latino children represent a significant proportion of all US children, and asthma is the most common chronic illness affecting them. Previous research has revealed surprising differences in health among Latino children with asthma of varying countries of family origin. For instance, Puerto Rican children have a higher prevalence of asthma than Mexican American or Cuban American children. In addition, there are important differences in family structure and socioeconomic status among these Latino populations: Cuban Americans have higher levels of education and family income than Mexican-Americans and Puerto Ricans; mainland Puerto Rican children have the highest proportion of households led by a single mother. Our review of past research documents differences in asthma outcomes among Latino children and identifies the possible genetic, environmental, and health care factors associated with these differences. Based on this review, we propose research studies designed to differentiate between mutable and immutable risk and prognostic factors. We also propose that the sociocultural milieus of Latino subgroups of different ethnic and geographic origin are associated with varying patterns of risk factors that in turn lead to different morbidity patterns. Our analysis provides a blue-print for future research, policy development, and the evaluation of multifactorial interventions involving the collaboration of multiple social sectors, such as health care, public health, education, and public and private agencies.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates whether racial/ethnic disparities in childhood asthma prevalence can be explained by differences in family and neighborhood socioeconomic position (SEP). METHODS: Data were from the 2001 Rhode Island Health Interview Survey (RI HIS), a statewide representative sample of 2,600 Rhode Island households, and the 2000 U.S. Census. A series of weighted multivariate models were fitted using generalized estimating equations (GEE) for the logistic case to analyze the independent and joint effects of race/ethnicity and SEP on doctor-diagnosed asthma among 1,769 white, black and Hispanic children <18 years old. RESULTS: Compared with white children, black children were at increased odds for asthma and this effect persisted when measures of family and neighborhood SEP were included in multivariate models (AOR: 2.49; 95% Cl: 1.30-4.77). Black children living in poverty neighborhoods had substantially higher odds of asthma than Hispanic and white children in poverty areas and children in moderate- and high-income neighborhoods (AOR: 3.20: 95% Cl: 1.62-6.29). CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of asthma among black children in poor neighborhoods is consistent with previous research on higher-than-average prevalence of childhood asthma in poor urban minority communities. Changing neighborhood social structures that contribute to racial disparities in asthma prevalence remains a challenge.

Background

Children living in urban environments have many risk factors for disrupted sleep, including environmental disturbances, stressors related to ethnic minority status, and higher rates of stress and anxiety. Asthma can further disrupt sleep in children, but little research has examined the effects of missed sleep on asthma morbidity.

Objective

To examine the associations among missed sleep, asthma-related quality of life (QoL), and indicators of asthma morbidity in urban children with asthma from Latino, African American, and non-Latino white backgrounds. Given the importance of anxiety as a trigger for asthma symptoms and the link between anxiety and disrupted sleep, the associations among anxiety, asthma morbidity indicators, and missed sleep were also tested.

Methods

Parents of 147 children ages 6 to 13 years completed measures of asthma morbidity and missed sleep, parental QoL, and child behavior.

Results

Higher reports of missed sleep were related to more frequent school absences, more activity limitations, and lower QoL across the sample. The associations between missed sleep and asthma morbidity were stronger for Latino children compared with non-Latino white and African American children. For children with higher anxiety, the associations between missed sleep and asthma morbidity were stronger than for children with lower anxiety.

Conclusion

Results offer preliminary support for missed sleep as a contributor to daily functioning of children with asthma in urban neighborhoods. Missed sleep may be more relevant to Latino families. Furthermore, anxiety may serve as a link between sleep and asthma morbidity because higher anxiety may exacerbate the effects of disrupted sleep on asthma.

Asthma is a common but complex respiratory ailment; current data indicate that interaction of genetic and environmental factors lead to its clinical expression. In the United States, asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality vary widely among different Latino ethnic groups. The prevalence of asthma is highest in Puerto Ricans, intermediate in Dominicans and Cubans, and lowest in Mexicans and Central Americans. Independently, known socioeconomic, environmental, and genetic differences do not fully account for this observation. One potential explanation is that there may be unique and ethnic-specific gene–environment interactions that can differentially modify risk for asthma in Latino ethnic groups. These gene–environment interactions can be tested using genetic ancestry as a surrogate for genetic risk factors. Latinos are admixed and share varying proportions of African, Native American, and European ancestry. Most Latinos are unaware of their precise ancestry and report their ancestry based on the national origin of their family and their physical appearance. The unavailability of precise ancestry and the genetic complexity among Latinos may complicate asthma research studies in this population. On the other hand, precisely because of this rich mixture of ancestry, Latinos present a unique opportunity to disentangle the clinical, social, environmental, and genetic underpinnings of population differences in asthma prevalence, severity, and bronchodilator drug responsiveness.

Objective This article presents a summary of findings from asthma studies focusing on immigration and acculturation-related factors. A study examining associations between these processes, family cohesion and social support networks, and asthma morbidity in a sample of Dominican and Puerto Rican caregivers residing in the mainland U.S., is also described. Methods Latino children with asthma (n = 232), ages 7–16 (49% female) and their caregivers completed interview-based questionnaires on immigration and acculturation-related processes, family characteristics, and asthma morbidity. Results The frequency of ED use due to asthma may be higher for children of caregivers born in Puerto Rico. Acculturative stress levels were higher for Puerto Rican born caregivers residing in the mainland U.S. Conclusion Asthma-related educational and intervention programs for Latino children and families should be tailored to consider the effects that the immigration and acculturation experience can have on asthma management. Specific family-based supports focused on decreasing stress related to the acculturation process, and increasing social and family support around the asthma treatment process may help to reduce asthma morbidity in Latino children.

Background

Premature discontinuation of psychiatric treatment among ethnic-racial minorities is a persistent concern. Prior research on identifying factors associated with ethnic-racial disparities in depression treatment has been limited by the scarcity of national samples with adequate representation of minority groups and especially non-English speakers. In this article we aim to identify variations in the likelihood of retention in depression treatment among ethnic-racial minority groups in the US as compared to non-Latino whites. Secondly, we aim to identify factors which are related to treatment retention.

Methods

We use data from the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES) to examine differences and correlates of depression treatment retention among a representative sample (n=564) of non-Latino whites, Latinos, African American and Asian respondents with last 12 month depressive disorder and who report receiving formal mental health treatment in the last year. We define retention as attending at least four visits or remaining in treatment over a 12 month period.

Results

Being seen by a mental health specialist as opposed to being seen by a generalist and having received medication are correlates of treatment retention for the entire sample. However, after adjusting for demographics, clinical factors including number of co-occurring psychiatric disorders and level of disability, African Americans are significantly less likely to be retained in depression treatment as compared to non-Latino whites.

Conclusions

Availability of specialized mental health services or comparable treatment within primary care could improve treatment retention. Low retention suggests persistent problems in the delivery of depression treatment for African Americans.

Objective

To determine if service disparities exist among severely mentally ill homeless adults, a vulnerable population with a high level of unmet need.

Methods

This study used data collected at baseline for 6,829 black, Latino, and non-Latino white participants in the Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Support study. Outcome variables were measures of utilization of psychiatric outpatient, housing, and case management services in the previous 60 days. The sample was divided into white/black and white/Latino cohorts. Within each cohort, participants were stratified into comparable groups using propensity scores that estimated log-odds of being black or Latino as a function of several confounding variables. White minus black/Latino differences in mean number of visits (a measure of intensity) and in the mean probability of at least 1 visit (a measure of access) were subsequently estimated.

Results

The study sample consisted of 50% black, 6% Latino, and 44% white participants. Service utilization was low for the three services regardless of race/ethnicity. On multivariate analyses of service utilization in the previous 60 days, blacks had fewer psychiatric outpatient visits than whites (mean difference [95% CI] = 0.46 [0.10, 0.81]) yet Latinos had more case management visits than whites (mean difference [95% CI] = −0.51 [−1.03, −0.05]). Access analyses did not reveal disparities.

Conclusions

While blacks have lower intensity of psychiatric outpatient utilization than whites hence experiencing a service disparity, Latinos have higher intensity of case management utilization than whites. Possible contributors and clinical and methodological implications of these results are discussed.

Objective

This study examined health service access among children of different racial/ethnic groups in the child welfare system in an attempt to identify and explain disparities.

Methods

Data were from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). N for descriptive statistics = 2,505. N for multiple regression model = 537. Measures reflected child health services need, access, and enabling factors. Chi-square and t tests were used to compare across racial/ethnic groups. A logistic regression model further explored the greatest disparity identified, that between non-Latino/a Black and White children in caseworker-reported access to counseling.

Results

In general, caseworker reports of health care service receipt did not differ across racial/ethnic groups. However, Latino/a children had better reported access to vision services than non-Latino/a White children, and counseling access was lower for non-Latino/a Black children than non-Latino/a White children. Caseworkers' self-reported efforts to facilitate service access did not vary by race/ethnicity for any type of health care. In the multiple regression model, both private health insurance and a lack of insurance were negatively associated with counseling access, while a history of sexual abuse, adolescence, and greater caseworker effort to secure services were positively associated with access. Race was just barely nonsignificant after controlling for other factors expected to affect access.

Conclusions

One possible reason why Black children are less likely to be identified as needing counseling is the fact that they are less likely than White children to have reports of sexual abuse, which strongly predicts counseling access.

Practice implications

First, child welfare practice may be more equitable than many believe, with generally comparable health service access reported across children's racial/ethnic groups. Second, caseworkers may be under-identifying need for counseling services among Black children, although this might reflect less frequent reports of sexual abuse for Black children. Third, both privately insured and uninsured children were less likely to receive needed mental health counseling than those with public insurance. This suggests that policy makers should focus on increasing the numbers of children enrolled in public health insurance programs such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Background

Causes of children’s asthma health disparities are complex. Parents’ asthma illness representations may play a role.

Purpose

The study aims to test a theoretically based, multi-factorial model for ethnic disparities in children’s acute asthma visits through parental illness representations.

Methods

Structural equation modeling investigated the association of parental asthma illness representations, sociodemographic characteristics, health care provider factors, and social–environmental context with children’s acute asthma visits among 309 White, Puerto Rican, and African American families was conducted.

Results

Forty-five percent of the variance in illness representations and 30% of the variance in acute visits were accounted for. Statistically significant differences in illness representations were observed by ethnic group. Approximately 30% of the variance in illness representations was explained for whites, 23% for African Americans, and 26% for Puerto Ricans. The model accounted for >30% of the variance in acute visits for African Americans and Puerto Ricans but only 19% for the whites.

Conclusion

The model provides preliminary support that ethnic heterogeneity in asthma illness representations affects children’s health outcomes.

Objective

Limited data is available to understand the prevalence and correlates of suicidal behavior among U.S. Latino subgroups. This paper compares the prevalence of lifetime suicide ideation and suicide attempts among major U.S. Latino ethnic subgroups and identifies psycho-sociocultural factors associated with suicidal behaviors.

Method

The National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS) includes Spanish and English speaking Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Latinos. Descriptive statistics and logistic models were used to determine demographic, clinical, cultural and social correlates of lifetime suicide ideation and attempts.

Results

The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts among Latinos was 10.2% and 4.4%, respectively. Puerto Ricans were more likely to report ideation as compared to other Latino subgroups but this difference was eliminated after adjustments for psychiatric and sociocultural factors. Most lifetime suicidal attempts described by Latinos were reported as occurring when they were under the age of 18 years. Any lifetime DSM-IV diagnoses, including dual diagnoses, were associated with an increased risk of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts among Latinos. In addition, female gender, acculturation (born in U.S. and English speaking) and high levels of family conflict were independently and positively correlated with suicide attempts among Latinos, even among those without any psychiatric disorder.

Conclusions

These findings reinforce the importance of understanding the process of acculturation, the role of family and sociocultural context for suicide risk among Latinos. These should be considered in addition to psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms in Latino suicide research, treatment and prevention, especially among young individuals.

Background

Latinos in the United States have a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes than non-Latino whites, even after controlling for adiposity. Decreased adiponectin is associated with insulin resistance and predicts T2DM, and therefore may mediate this ethnic difference. We compared total and high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin in Latino versus white individuals, identified factors associated with adiponectin in each ethnic group, and measured the contribution of adiponectin to ethnic differences in insulin resistance.

Methods

We utilized cross-sectional data from subjects in the Latinos Using Cardio Health Actions to reduce Risk study. Participants were Latino (n = 119) and non-Latino white (n = 60) men and women with hypertension and at least one other risk factor for CVD (age 61 ± 10 yrs, 49% with T2DM), seen at an integrated community health and hospital system in Denver, Colorado. Total and HMW adiponectin was measured by RIA and ELISA respectively. Fasting glucose and insulin were used to calculate the homeostasis model insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR). Variables independently associated with adiponectin levels were identified by linear regression analyses. Adiponectin's contribution to ethnic differences in insulin resistance was assessed in multivariate linear regression models of Latino ethnicity, with logHOMA-IR as a dependent variable, adjusting for possible confounders including age, gender, adiposity, and renal function.

Results

Mean adiponectin levels were lower in Latino than white patients (beta estimates: -4.5 (-6.4, -2.5), p < 0.001 and -1.6 (-2.7, -0.5), p < 0.005 for total and HMW adiponectin), independent of age, gender, BMI/waist circumference, thiazolidinedione use, diabetes status, and renal function. An expected negative association between adiponectin and waist circumference was seen among women and non-Latino white men, but no relationship between these two variables was observed among Latino men. Ethnic differences in logHOMA-IR were no longer observed after controlling for adiponectin levels.

Conclusions

Among patients with CVD risk, total and HMW adiponectin is lower in Latinos, independent of adiposity and other known regulators of adiponectin. Ethnic differences in adiponectin regulation may exist and future research in this area is warranted. Adiponectin levels accounted for the observed variability in insulin resistance, suggesting a contribution of decreased adiponectin to insulin resistance in Latino populations.

Background

Although Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are jointly classified as “Hispanic/Latino”, there are significant differences in asthma prevalence, severity, and mortality between the two groups. We sought to examine the possibility that population-specific genetic risks contribute to this disparity.

Objectives

Over 100 candidate genes have been associated with asthma and replicated in an independent population, and seven genomewide association studies in asthma have been performed. We compared the pattern of replication of these associations in Puerto Ricans and Mexicans.

Methods

We genotyped Mexican and Puerto Rican trios using an Affymetrix 6.0 Genechip, and used a family based analysis to test for genetic associations in 124 genes previously associated with asthma.

Results

We identified 32 SNPs in 17 genes associated with asthma in at least one of the two populations. Twenty-two of these SNPs in eleven genes were significantly associated with asthma in the combined population and showed no significant heterogeneity of association, while five SNPs were associated in only one population and showed statistically significant effect heterogeneity. In a gene-based approach, two additional genes were associated with asthma in the combined population and three additional genes displayed ethnic-specific associations with heterogeneity.

Conclusions

Our results show that only a minority of genetic association studies replicate in our population of Mexican and Puerto Rican asthmatics. Among SNPs that were successfully replicated, most showed no significant heterogeneity across populations. However, we identified several population-specific genetic associations.

Background and objective

Latino children have lower rates of injury visits to emergency departments (EDs) than non‐Latino white and African American children. This study tests the hypothesis that this difference reflects health insurance status.

Design

Secondary analysis.

Patients/setting

Children under 19 years of age visiting EDs in the USA, sampled in the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey of EDs (NHAMCS‐ED) from 1997 to 2001.

Main outcome measures

Rates of ED injury visits; ED injury visit rates by race/ethnicity stratified by health insurance and adjusted for other covariates; subtypes of injury visits; and procedures and hospital admissions by race/ethnicity.

Results

Injuries accounted for >56 million, or 40.5%, of total ED visits among pediatric patients. Injury visits occurred at lower rates for Latino children (9.9 per 100 person years) than non‐Latino white and African American children (16.2 and 18.3, respectively), although total ED visit rates were similar. Regardless of health insurance status, Latino children had lower rates of injury visits than non‐Latino white and African American children. Latino children had lower rates of the three major subtypes of injury visits (sports, accidental falls, struck by/between objects). Latino children had similar rates of procedures and hospital admissions to non‐Latino white children.

Conclusions

Irrespective of their insurance status, Latino children have lower rates of ED injury visits in the USA than non‐Latino white children. Possible reasons for this difference include different healthcare seeking behavior or different injury patterns by race/ethnicity, but not differences in health insurance status or barriers to accessing ED care.

This article reviews recent research that examines service use for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder among Latino children. Using MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and PubMed, literature searches were conducted for research published between January 2008 and April 2010 that specifically focused on Latino children or included a sufficient sample of Latino children and examined racial/ethnic differences between groups. Eight studies regarding general service use, treatment with medication, and parenting interventions were identified and are reviewed herein. Results of these studies highlight important factors associated with the continued mental health service use disparities among Latino children, such as parental attitudes toward service use. Results also provide much-needed data with regard to adapting and engaging Latino parents into parenting interventions. Suggestions for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Background

Ethnic differences in physicians’ attitudes and behaviors related to clinical trials might partially account for disparities in clinical trial participation among Latino patients. Literature regarding Latino physicians’ involvement in clinical trials, in comparison to White physicians, could not be found.

Methods

Cross-sectional data from randomly selected physicians (N=695), stratified by ethnicity, were analyzed to test associations of ethnicity with physicians’ participation in and attitudes toward referral of patients to clinical trials.

Results

Chi-square analyses showed significant (p<0.05) associations of physician race/ethnicity and clinical trials involvement, type of trial for which the physician is likely to recommend a patient, belief in scientific value, and factors that would influence recommendation for a patient to participate. Multivariate analyses resulted in several significant (p<0.05) predictors of clinical trials outcomes, including physician race/ethnicity.

Conclusions

Latino physicians were significantly less involved in clinical trials than White physicians and found less scientific value in them, highlighting areas for future education and intervention.

We examined the experiences, perceptions, and values that are brought to bear when individuals from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds consider participating in health research. Fifty-three women from Latino, Asian American, Middle Eastern, or Non-Latino, White backgrounds participated in seven English or Spanish focus groups facilitated by trained investigators using a standard protocol. Investigators described the National Children’s Study (NCS) and then asked questions to elicit potential concerns, expectations, and informational needs. Group sessions were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative thematic methods. A major theme that emerged during focus groups was participant self-identification as a member of a cultural group or community when raising issues that would influence their decision to participate in research. A related theme was the belief by some that communities may differ in the ease of participation in the NCS. Identified themes related to the informed consent process included perceived risks, anticipated burden, perceived benefits, informational needs, and decision-making strategies. Although themes were shared across groups, there were cultural differences within themes. Findings indicated that individuals from diverse backgrounds may have different perspectives on and expectations for the research process. To effectively recruit representative samples, it will be important to address a range of issues relevant for informed consent and to consider the impact of participation on both individuals and communities.

Background

Many studies have evaluated factors influencing STD/HIV disparities between African-American and white populations, but fewer have explicitly included Latinos for comparison.

Methods

We analyzed demographic and behavioral data captured in electronic medical records of patients first seen by a clinician in one of two Baltimore City public STD clinics between 2004 and 2007. Records from white, African-American, and Latino patients were included in the analysis.

Results

There were significant differences between Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups for several behavioral risk factors studied, with Latino patients reporting fewer behavioral risk factors than other patients. Latinos were more likely to have syphilis, but less likely to have gonorrhea than other racial/ethnic groups. English-proficient Latina (female) patients reported higher rates of infection and behavioral risk factors than Spanish-speaking Latina patients. After adjustment for gender and behavioral risk factors, Spanish-speaking Latinas also had significantly less risk of sexually transmitted infections than did English-speaking Latinas.

Conclusions

These results are consistent with other studies showing that acculturation (as measured by language proficiency) is associated with increases in reported sexual risk behaviors among Latinos. Future studies on sexual risk behavior among specific Latino populations characterized by country of origin, level of acculturation, and years in the U.S. may identify further risk factors and protective factors to guide development of culturally appropriate STD/HIV interventions.