Access to and utilization of health care by subgroups of Latino children.
BACKGROUND
Latinos make up the largest group of minority children in the United States. Despite great diversity among Latino children, studies have traditionally treated them as a monolithic group. Few studies have examined patterns and determinants of access to and use of health care for different subgroups of Latino children.


OBJECTIVE
To delineate differences in access and utilization patterns between white and subgroups of Latino children, after adjusting for important predisposing, enabling, and need factors.


METHODS
National Health Interview Survey data (1998-2006) were used to study children of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latino ancestry, as well as white children. Data were adjusted for predisposing, enabling, and need factors in incremental models. Additional analyses were conducted to test for effect modification of health insurance and language use on the associations between the subgroups and health care access and utilization.


RESULTS
Children of Mexican ancestry were found to have the most consistent pattern of poorer access to health care and use of services compared with the other subgroups. Multivariate analyses demonstrated persistent variability between Latino subgroups. Adjustment for predisposing, enabling, and need factors did not fully explain subgroup differences.


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts to understand health care services for Latino children will require further examination of specific subgroups, and interventions to improve access and utilization should not be limited to health insurance coverage and language services.
Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA. vhperez@ucla.edu
Victor H
VH
Perez
Hai
H
Fang
Moira
M
Inkelas
Alice A
AA
Kuo
Alexander N
AN
Ortega
D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors