An Ecological Perspective on U.S. Latinos’ Health Communication Behaviors,Access,and Outcomes

Abstract

U.S. Latinos experience constrained access to formal health care resources, contributing to higher incidence of preventable diseases and chronic health conditions than the general population. The authors explore whether a rich set of informal health communication connections—to friends, family, radio, television, Internet, newspapers, magazines, churches, and community organizations—can compensate, even partially, for not having access to doctors. The authors find no evidence of any such compensatory mechanism among respondents to the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Latino Health Survey (N = 3,899). Analyses revealed that the informal health communication ecologies of respondents with favorable immigration/nativity status and greater income, education, and language proficiencies were more diversified than those of respondents reporting less favorable social status. Further analyses revealed that diversified informal health communication ecologies related to health care access (regular doctor visits, uninterrupted health insurance, and regular health care location) and favorable health outcomes (self-ratings of general health, health-related efficacy, and knowledge of diabetes symptoms).