Healthcare Disparities Among Hispanic Communities
discouraging people from seeking care . And newer research suggests that stressors related to immigration can have a spillover effect on the health and wellbeing of U . S . -born Hispanics ( i . e ., those not subject to deportation ) as well as foreign-born Hispanics ” ( Hostetter & Klein , 2018 ).
The impact stretches wider than stress and access to healthcare — the KFF reports , “ Some Hispanic adults , particularly those who are potentially undocumented , report that they have avoided seeking assistance for food , housing , and / or health care due to immigration-related fears . One in ten Hispanic adults ( 11 %) say there was there a time in the past 3 years when they or a family member decided not to apply for or stopped participating in a government assistance program because they were afraid it might negatively affect their or a family member ’ s immigration status ” ( Artiga et al ., 2021 ).
Compounding Problems — Adding COVID-19 to Existing Health Disparities
Some primary health conditions , as listed by the OMH , that impact Hispanic communities include , “ asthma , chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , HIV / AIDS , obesity , suicide , and liver disease ,” many of which increase a person ’ s risk of complications from COVID-19 .
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