The sexual and reproductive health needs of Latinas are not
being adequately addressed by researchers, leaving Latinas less
informed about health issues than women of other races, according
to a new report.
Released by The Allan Guttmacher Institute and Latino Issues
Forum, the report is a compilation of national data on these
issues. Jennifer Frost, a senior researcher at the Guttmacher
Institute, and Anne Driscoll, senior research associate at UC
Davis, headed the project. Both are graduates of the UCLA School of
Public Health. Frost said many areas of Latina health are not
covered in reports due to a lack of funding for research and also
because of cultural barriers, such as topics like abortion being
taboo in the Latino community.
The total number of published reproductive and sexual health
articles about Latina women is 18 percent, versus 35 percent for
blacks and 41 percent for whites, according to a press release
about the report. Frost also said language barriers can prevent
Latinas who don’t speak English very well from getting all of
the information they need regarding sexual and reproductive
issues.
“These are issues that are sometimes sensitive, and if a
translator isn’t available, a (medical) provider isn’t
going to give information to a child who is 7 years old (who does
speak English),” she said.
Driscoll said though there are programs that are bilingual and
bicultural which provide testing for STDs and information about
health issues, these programs often have fewer resources.
“If you don’t speak English, it cuts off a lot of
avenues,” she said.
In addition to addressing the impact of language barriers on
Latinas acquiring adequate health information, the report explores
the individual issues in sexual and reproductive health.
One issue addressed in the report is Latina women’s use of
contraception.
Driscoll said Latino immigrants are less likely to use
contraception than American-born Latinos, due to lack of education
and differing attitudes of parents.
“There are different attitudes in communities and
subgroups in communities about what is and what’s not
appropriate in terms of behavior,” she said.
Latina women also have a tendency to have boyfriends who are
older than they are, which can lead to behavior in relationships
that is different than if they were to date people their own age,
she added.
Another issue is access to health care. Sarah Mercer, senior
program manager for the Latino Issues Forum, said the rising costs
of health insurance as well as the tendency of Latinos to be in
occupations which offer either no insurance or only catastrophic
coverage prevents Latinos from getting early treatment. Without
proper preventative care, many illnesses morph into chronic
problems which are even more expensive to care for, she said.
Researchers said better education and funding for research will
help Latinas be more healthy. There is also the question of how
much personal responsibility should factor in for Latinas to ensure
they are healthy.
Mercer said Latinos should take responsibility for making sure
they do as they’ve been instructed by doctors in order to be
healthy.
Roshan Bastani, co-director of the UCLA Center to Eliminate
Health Disparities, said succeeding generations of Latinos often
smoke tobacco more than their parents, leading to diseases like
lung cancer and other health problems.
But ensuring the health of the Latino community is a
responsibility of society, Bastani said.
“If they are here and productive members of society,
society is benefitting from the work and contributions people are
making. It is a societal obligation to take care of them. Health
care is a basic right,” Bastani said.