Hispanics are today the largest group with the lowest access to health care in the U.S. as measured by several studies that quantify rates of uninsured and percentages who lack a primary care physician (R. Andersen, Lewis,... [ view full abstract ]
Hispanics are today the largest group with the lowest access to health care in the U.S. as measured by several studies that quantify rates of uninsured and percentages who lack a primary care physician (R. Andersen, Lewis, Giachello, Aday, & Chiu, 1981;R. M. Andersen, Giachello, & Aday, 1986; Balcazar, Grineski, & Collins,2015; Fiscella, Franks, Doescher, & Saver, 2002; Gresenz, Rogowski, &Escarce, 2009; Livingston, 2009). In states like Missouri, where the Hispanic population growth is relatively recent, the issue is new (Haverluk &Trautman, 2008; Stepler & Brown, 2015). Although the overall percentage of Latinos in Missouri is still low -about 4% - what is noteworthy is the group’s population growth of 311% for the period 1990 to 2016. In some rural counties, particularly in the Southwest, the growth and percentage of the Hispanic population is significantly higher than the state’s average (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014b, 2014a).
A meta-analysis of 83 published studies between 1981 and 2016 finds that structural barriers are in place and identifies additional ones that apply to social capital. The term social capital is practically neglected in this literature that focuses on Hispanics’ access to health care. Although there are studies that measure and discuss the importance of having social networks to access medical resources, almost no study identified uses the term social capital and even fewer measure or discuss it by subtypes. Data from asurvey study conducted in the state of Missouri in 2014-2015 is used as the basis of logistic regression analysis. The survey study further corroborates that there are structural barriers, but also finds social capital impacts access for this population. In particular, I find that two types of social capital are significant but in opposite directions. Bonding social capital,which stems from strong relationships, is found to hinder access. This may be because many such tight networks may not be as connected to the Anglo portion of the American society that is better linked to healthcare resources. On the other hand,bridging social capital, which stems from weak relationships, is found to be an enabler of access. These results indicate that we need to go beyond just offering medical insurance to this group. In order for Hispanics to increase access to health care they need to be better connected to the proper socialnetworks that can enhance access.
