Healthcare & U.S. Hispanics: Understanding Cultural Differences is the Key.

Even though Hispanics comprise the largest minority group in the United States, studies show that they are largely underserved by the health care system. According to the Center for Disease Control, Hispanics were 14.4 percent less likely than non-Hispanics to have health care coverage in 2002. They were 15.6 percent less likely to have a regular personal health care provider and 2.8 percent less likely than non-Hispanics to have a regular place of care. Paradoxically, Hispanics were significantly more likely than non-Hispanics to report having needed medical care during the preceding 12 months but could not obtain it.

In analyzing the reasons for these disparities, cultural differences between Hispanics and the non-Hispanic doctors who treat them become relevant. Health care for U.S. Hispanics can be a source of great difficulty and dissatisfaction. Obtaining access to health care in the U.S. is often challenging because of cultural differences, cost, lack of health insurance and other barriers such as language. In addition, health care in Latin American countries is very different than it is in the U.S.

In Latin American countries, health care is an overall benefit for workers and their families, and when a physician is not available healers also deal with health problems (Korzenny p. 191). In the U.S, even when health care is available for Hispanics, the experience is often unpleasant and unsatisfactory. Hispanics dislike the impersonal treatment they receive from U.S. health care professionals. Here, doctors look at their patients’ charts, ask them a few questions, hand them a prescription and they are off to see the next patient. This doctor-patient relationship in the U.S. is much more impersonal than it is in Latin America. In Latin America, a doctor will most likely greet his or her patients with a kiss on the cheek and with sincere concern of their well-being. The doctor will spend ample time with their patients , ask them about their family and personal life and will more than likely follow up on the patient’s condition later. Clearly, the experience is much more comfortable and personal than in the United States.

U.S. health care professionals also express frustration in treating Hispanics that go beyond the language barrier . They have difficulty understanding the real health problems of Hispanics and why these patients frequently do not follow the treatments that they prescribe (Korzenny p. 192). Perhaps it would become more clear if they understood how health care differs in Latin America. It seems obvious that a patient would listen more to a doctor who knows them and spends time with them, rather than someone who has 10 other patients to see in the next 30 minutes.

Another cultural difference between Hispanic and non-Hispanic patients is the belief in less traditional, non-scientific ailments and treatments. U.S. physicians generally attribute illness to more scientifically described origins, whereas Hispanic culture attributes illness to many different causes such as negative psychological states, environmental conditions or supernatural causes (Korzenny p. 193). U.S. physicians should also understand the role of the pharmacist in Hispanic culture to give them insight as to why Hispanics have difficulty understanding they need to have a prescription to obtain medicine. In Latin America, pharmacists are professionals who are able to prescribe medicine without a doctor’s approval. Hispanics also rely on home remedies used by many generations to treat common illnesses. These reasons may explain another dimension of why Hispanics are less likely to seek health care in the U.S.

These insights would allow marketers in the health care field to more easily communicate with the U.S. Hispanic population. Providing U.S. Hispanics with culturally sensitive health care would reduce some of the stress Hispanics experience and would improve the quality of care they are given (Caudle p.1). Health care providers could improve relationships with Hispanic patients by viewing culture as an enabler rather than a resistant force. Providers could benefit by incorporating cultural beliefs into the plans of care and also taking the time for “pleasant conversation (Caudle p.1).”

Firsthand Cultural Insights

In-depth interviewing can help marketers obtain valuable cultural insights. For this reason, I interviewed my mother about her feelings towards health care in the United States. Maria Elvira Sarmiento, 55, emigrated from Colombia in 1988 with her husband and three children.

When interviewing my mother, I learned she shared many of the same frustrations as other U.S. Hispanics. She said she dislikes the impersonal nature of the doctor-patient relationship in the U.S. She also said she is frustrated by the complicated policies that insurance companies impose on their clients. She said they did not like the feeling of having to “jump through hoops” to see a doctor and when you finally get to, he is with you for only five minutes.
After this general discussion on health care in America, I asked her how she felt about our primary care physician and why she had chosen him to treat us. The answer gave me a big cultural insight into U.S. Hispanics. My mother told me she picked Dr. Lopez because he was Hispanic. It did not matter to her that she has to drive 30 minutes to his office in Delray Beach to see him. Rather than pick a doctor in Boca Raton where she lives, she decided the drive was worth it to see “alguien que me entiende y me conoce.”

After this discovery, I asked her about her dentist, her manicurist, her accountant– the reason she picked them was the same. She said she chose to do business with Hispanics because they understand her and because she wants to help other Hispanics succeed by doing business with them.

I think this goes back to the collectivist nature of Hispanics. “The reason someone succeeds or fails is because someone helped or someone placed obstacles in the way (Korzenny p. 180).” In other words, we can help other Hispanics in the U.S. succeed, and they can help us as well. The more we help each other, the more successful we will all be in the end.

Margarita Sarmiento
mm****@*su.edu
Master’s Candidate, Integrated Marketing Communications
Florida State University

Sources

“Access to Health-Care and Preventive Services Among Hispanics and Non-Hispanics — United States, 2001-2002.” 15 Oct., 2004. 11 Oct., 2005. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5340a2.htm>

Caudle, P. “Providing Culturally Sensitive Health Care to Hispanic Clients.” 11 Oct., 2005. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8108046&dopt=Citation>

Korzenny, Felipe and Betty Ann Korzenny. Hispanic Marketing: A Cultural Perspective. Burlington: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005.

Sarmiento, Maria Elvira. Phone Interview. 10 Oct., 2005.