Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 27 July 2018

AP-NORC Poll: Latinos see health care communication barriers

By EMILY SWANSON and prepare the kind of food
RUSSELL CONTRERAS they are used to. Some
WASHINGTON (AP) — Near- have concerns about find-
ly 6 in 10 Hispanic adults ing nursing homes and
have had a difficult time assisted-living facilities that
communicating with a will respect their religious
health care provider be- or spiritual beliefs, though
cause of a language or fewer have the same con-
cultural barrier, and when cern about home health
they do they often turn to aides.
outside sources for help, Torres said he's not con-
according to a new study fident he'll find a cultur-
conducted by The Associ- ally sensitive nursing home
ated Press-NORC Center when he's gets older. "I'd
for Public Affairs Research. rather just live alone and
The survey finds that half poison myself by accident
of those who have faced rather than stay in one of
those barriers turned to a those homes right now," he
family member or to an- said.
other health care provider Like other older Americans,
for assistance. In addition, many Hispanics age 40 and
more than 1 in 4 looked to older expect to rely on gov-
a translator, public resourc- ernment programs like So-
es in their community or on- cial Security, Medicare and
line sources for help when Medicaid to pay for long-
they faced those issues. term care services, even
Antonio Torres, 53, of Orlan- though Medicare does not
do, Florida, who is bilingual In this file photo taken Nov. 22, 2014, Blue Bridge Benefits LLC agent Patricia Sarabia, right, and cover most nursing care or
Adolfo Briceno, left, with Spanish Speaking LLC, help a potential customer with Blue Cross Blue
and legally blind, told The Shield at a kiosk promoting Obama Care at Compare Foods in Winston-Salem, N.C. home health aides. But only
AP he regularly struggles Associated Press about 2 in 10 think any of
to understand the medical these programs will still be
terms used by doctors and said Torres, who is Puerto Ri- even gets medicine with Latinos are something ad- providing at least the same
nurses. can and was raised in New his name misspelled on the vocates have been point- level of benefits five years
"When I tell them I don't un- York. "We didn't grow up bottle. "And I don't know if ing out for years. from now. Just 15 percent
derstand them, they'll bring speaking that formal Span- I'm taking my medicine or In 2014, for example, the of older Hispanics are very
someone over to speak to ish, so I have no idea what someone else's," he said. Obama administration confident they will be able
me in Spanish and I don't they are saying." The language and cultural faced criticism following to pay for their own future
understand them, either," At times, Torres said he barriers in health care for the rollout of the Span- long-term care needs.
ish version of the federal The survey also finds that a
health care website, Cui- large majority of older His-
dadoDeSalud.gov. The panics are open to using
translations were so clunky at least one type of tele-
and full of grammatical medicine to receive care,
mistakes that critics say including phone consulta-
they must have been com- tions, text messages or vid-
puter-generated. The web- eo services like Skype, al-
site also translated "premi- though older Hispanics are
um" into "prima," the Span- somewhat less likely than
ish word more commonly others in their age group to
used to mean a female say they'd be comfortable
cousin among Mexican- using some types of tele-
Americans and Mexican medicine.
immigrants. Gabriel Vargas, 41, of Lan-
Along with communication caster, South Carolina, who
challenges, many Hispan- is from Veracruz, Mexico,
ics are concerned about said he felt these resources
language or cultural ac- in his area already were
commodations for people helping Latino residents.
in their community who The growth of online op-
seek long-term care ser- tions, he said, is breaking
vices. down the stigma held by
Fewer than half say it would Hispanics around regular
be easy for older Latinos in checkups and preventa-
their area to find a nursing tive care.
home or assisted living fa- "There's a nonprofit group
cility with staff that speaks here that goes out of its
their language, or to find way to help," said Vargas,
a home health aide who whose first language is
does. Even fewer — less Spanish. "Maybe 10 years
than 3 in 10 — say the same ago, it was tough. But to-
about finding long-term day I think it's become
care providers who can easier."q