Use of curanderismo in a public health care system.
BACKGROUND
Curanderismo ("the healing") is a centuries-old synthesis of Mexican Indian culture and beliefs.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the rate of use of curanderismo among Hispanic subjects seeking medical care at the Denver Health Medical Center, Denver, Colo.


METHODS
We conducted a survey of 405 Hispanic subjects attending outpatient primary and urgent care clinics at Denver Health Medical Center, the public hospital system for Denver. The main outcome measure was independent predictors of use of curanderos.


RESULTS
Of the 405 subjects, 118 (29.1%) (95% confidence interval, 20.9-37.3) had been to a curandero at some time in their lives. Of all the subjects, 91.3% knew what a curandero was. Univariate analyses demonstrated an association between those who had been to a curandero and level of income, level of education, and whether the subject was bilingual. The results of fitting a stepwise logistic regression model revealed an independent association with subjects who had been to a curandero and level of household income (>$20 000 vs <$10 000), with an odds ratio of 2.19 (95% confidence interval, 1.20-4.01) (P =.01), and level of education (post--high school vs elementary school), with an odds ratio of 3.16 (95% confidence interval, 1.45-6.86) (P =.004).


CONCLUSIONS
Many Hispanic patients who receive their health care at a public hospital system use the services of curanderos. This potentially has important implications for their health care.
Padilla
R
R
Division of General Internal Medicine, Westside Family Health Center, Denver Health Medical Center, 1100 Federal Blvd, Mail Code 3000, Denver, CO 80204, USA. rpadill@dhha.org
Gomez
V
V
Biggerstaff
S L
SL
Mehler
P S
PS
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D003120:Colorado; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006779:Hospitals, Public / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008602:Mental Healing; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity