An Ecological Perspective on U.S. Latinos’ Health Communication Behaviors, Access, and Outcomes

Abstract

U.S. Latinos experience constrained access to formal health care resources, contributing to higher incidence of preventable diseases and chronic health conditions than the general population. The authors explore whether a rich set of informal health communication connections-to friends, family, radio, television, Internet, newspapers, magazines, churches, and community organizations-can compensate, even partially, for not having access to doctors. The authors find no evidence of any such compensatory mechanism among respondents to the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Latino Health Survey (N = 3,899). Analyses revealed that the informal health communication ecologies of respondents with favorable immigration/nativity status and greater income, education, and language proficiencies were more diversified than those of respondents reporting less favorable social status. Further analyses revealed that diversified informal health communication ecologies related to health care access (regular doctor visits, uninterrupted health insurance, and regular health care location) and favorable health outcomes (self-ratings of general health, health-related efficacy, and knowledge of diabetes symptoms).

Communication Resources for Obesity Prevention Among African American and Latino Residents in an Urban Neighborhood

“…These findings support the contention that researchers using the communication infrastructure theory should move beyond considering the influence of the neighborhood storytelling network alone, but to also consider other communication resources that may influence health (Ball-Rokeach et al, 2001;Wilkin, 2013). A communication ecology approach enables researchers to identify the communication resources that seem to have the greatest association to health outcomes from myriad potential health storytellers, and to consider their influences in context of each other (Katz, Ang, & Suro, 2012;Wilkin, 2013;Wilkin, Ball-Rokeach, Matsaganis, & Cheong, 2007).…”

Impact Assessment of Culturally Competent Nutrition Trainings on Diabetes Type II Control to Male Latinos/Hispanics

“…Structural factors such as the lack of culturally and linguistically competent health programs and services have been identified as barriers to Latino/Hispanic health decision making and healthcare use [9]. Thus the importance of a culturally competent health education that increases the extent to which individuals are well informed about health care matters such as nutrition, sanitation, and the availability of health care resources [4] integrating cultural safety, considering the perception of the recipient and taking in consideration the outcome of cultural competence.…”

“…Regarding health status, Latinos living in the U.S. have a higher incidence of chronic diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and obesity and have fewer physician visits in 12 months when compared to non-Hispanic Whites [3][4][5]. The Latino/Hispanic population appears to use health care services differently when compared to other ethnic groups.…”

Bilingual families and information and communication technology at home

“…Others used an ecological perspective when studying other topics, such as Latino parents' patterns of participating in students' school-related blogging, and the discourses that surround it (Shin & Seger, 2016), how low-income Latino families incorporate technology into their daily lives (Katz & Gonzalez, 2016), studying digital equity (aka meaningful digital participation) among Hispanic families in the U.S. (Katz & Levine, 2015;Vaala, 2013), and health communication behaviors (Katz, Ang, & Suro, 2012). I consider all those living within the household as potential expert learners (Vygotsky, 1978) who figure in the novice's ecology of resources (Bronfenbrenner, 1986).…”

“…Carmen's reality of living with two languages fits with Garcia and Wei's (2014) definition of translanguaging, where bilingual language practices are the norm. Carmen would weave in and out of the languages within the same breath, such as when she said, (Bronfenbrenner, 1986), which aided their communication with each other (Katz, Ang, & Suro, 2012;Takeuchi & Levine, 2014) and with the world outside their home. It seemed likely that the language choice was influenced by, but not dependent upon, the context (Silva-Corvalán & Treffers-Daller, 2016).…”