Barriers to Health Care for Abused Latina and Asian Immigrant Women

Abstract

This study identifies social, political, and cultural barriers to help seeking from health care organizations faced by abused Latina and Asian immigrant women. Qualitative data were collected through four semistructured ethnic-specific focus group interviews with 28 abused Latina and Asian immigrant women. Participants who had suffered intimate partner abuse were recruited through urban community-based organizations in San Francisco, California. Sociopolitical barriers to help seeking and patient-provider communication included social isolation, language barriers, and, for some, discrimination and fears of deportation. Sociocultural barriers included dedication to the children and family unity, shame related to the abuse, and the cultural stigma of divorce. Abused Latina and Asian immigrant women face significant social, cultural, and political barriers to patient-provider communication and help seeking. Medical and social service providers and policy makers may improve the quality of care for these women by understanding and addressing these barriers.

A Comparative Study of Mortality Among Puerto Rican Injection Drug Users in East Harlem, New York, and Bayamon, Puerto Rico

“…54,55 However, the high mortality rate of female IDUs in our cohorts also needs to be understood in light of the disproportional stigma the Hispanic culture holds against drug-using women. 56,57 Designing supportive systems, including health and drug treatment programs, that address the specific needs of Puerto Rican drug-using women should also become a high priority public health issue.…”

Exploring Battered Mexican-Origin Women's Help-Seeking Within Their Sociocultural Contexts

“…Research has also shown that battered Latinas, especially those who are immigrants, are unlikely to utilize formal (Bauer et al, 2000;Dutton et al, 2000;Hogeland & Rosen, 1990;Krishnan et al, 1997;West et al, 1998) and informal help West, 1998) sources in order to survive abuse. For example, found that Latinas were least likely to contact a friend, minister, or social service agency.…”

“…According to theory and research, culturally influenced gender roles, scripts, and values may significantly impact abused Latinas' (Bauer et al, 2000;Flores-Ortiz, 1994;Kanuha, 1994;King et. al, 1993;Martinez-Garcia, 1988;Perilla, 1999;Vera, 2002;Zambrano, 1985) and Mexican American women's (Avecedo, 2000;Morash, Bui, & Santiago, 2000;Sorenson, 1996;Torres, 1991) responses to abuse.…”

“…Because formal services may be less accessible to battered Latinas due to financial, linguistic, legal, and cultural barriers (Bauer, Rodriguez, & Szkupinski Quiroga, 2000;Dutton et al, 2000;Sorenson, 1996), these women may be more likely to rely personal strategies to survive violence. Thus, it was deemed that including an exploration of usage of personal strategies by Mexican-origin women would make an important contribution to understanding how they respond to abuse.…”

“…The few studies that have examined this issue, (i.e., Bauer et al, 2000;Sorenson, 1996) have included only small sample sizes and qualitative methodology and/or have not distinguished among Latino subgroups (i.e., Dutton et al, 2000).…”