The Hispanic/Latino population is the largest minority in the US, representing over 13% of the population. It is the fastest growing group with an increment of 58% in the last decade. By 2050, 1 of every four Americans will be Hispanic/Latino.

It must be taken into account that the median age for the Hispanic/Latino population is 25.9, while it is 35.3 for the non/Hispanic whites.

It is estimated that 75% are bilingual but most of them prefer to speak Spanish when dealing with health issues

Health

Today, chronic diseases—such as cardiovascular disease (primarily heart disease and stroke), cancer, and diabetes—are among the most prevalent, costly, and preventable of all health problems.

Chronic disease has an excessive impact on minority populations.

Hispanics are more likely to suffer from certain chronic diseases and have less access to health care than non-Hispanic whites.

“We're dying of some of these diseases because we're not getting the treatment,'' Elena Alvarado,
Executive Director of the National Latina Health Network

Obesity is on the rise among Hispanics. Among Hispanics ages 18 and older, 66.2 percent of men and 56.8 percent of women are overweight (62.7 and 43.4 among NHW)). New dietary patterns and less physical activity associated with a new lifestyle play an important role.

Diabetes, heavily associated with obesity, is highly prevalent among Hispanic/Latinos. According to the CDC, Hispanic Americans are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus at twice the rate of white Americans. One out of every 10 Latinos is diabetic vs. 1 out of every 20 NHW. One in every 4 at age 45.
The risk for heart disease is two times higher in diabetic men and four times higher in diabetic women.

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death among Hispanics/Latinos living in the US, and Hypertension has a similar prevalence for Hispanics and for NHW. Hispanic women are more likely than whites to have high blood pressure. Hispanics are less likely than whites and African-Americans to be aware of their HBP.

Among Hispanics/Latinos the risk of stroke is 1.3 times higher

Cancer is the second leading cause of death, following heart disease. Hispanics/Latinos present a higher incidence of cancer of the stomach, liver, cervix and gallbladder.

Hispanics are traditionally the least likely of racial and ethnic groups to use preventive services. It means a lot regarding chronic diseases.

Another important issue related to demographics and health among Hispanics/Latinos is their high pregnancy rate. Total fertility rate is 3.1 while that for the total US is only 2.1. Of 4.1 million births occurred in the US in year 2000, 800,000 were to Hispanic/Latino women.

Language and Culture

Spanish is the second most common language in the US, but it is not just one language; there are many variations depending on the country of origin.

At the same time, the Hispanic/Latino community is diverse and contains various cultures with different ideas, knowledge and attitudes regarding health and disease.

Taking into consideration that lack of Cultural Competence represents the main limitation to offer good health services to Hispanics, our Programs are based on culturally relevant matters that are important to improve health care services for the Hispanic/Latino communities.

H&NC Educational material has been created for the Spanish-speaking health market and is customized for each institution.

Legal facts

Several regulations exist to guarantee the provision of services to groups of populations with Limited English Proficiency. These are three of the most important ones:
I. The Title VI of the Civil Rights Act says: No person shall be subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.
II. The Executive Order 13166 was signed on August 11, 2000 to improve access to services for persons with Limited English Proficiency. It’s main goal is “ ..to ensure that the programs and activities normally provided in English are accessible to LEP persons and thus do not discriminate on the basis of national origin in violation of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
III. Following the Executive Order 13166 the Department of Health and Human Services issued the Strategic Plan to Improve Access to HHS Programs and Activities by LEP Persons.

Hospitals and other Health Care institutions must be in compliance with these LEP regulations