05-24-06

Media Release

OSU To Study Disparities In Health Care Among Rural Latinos

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Latinos share a disproportionately high risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease, but efforts to reverse the trend usually ignore rural Latino populations, according to Oregon State University researchers.

In an effort to address disparities among rural Latinos, Marie Harvey, professor and chair of OSU's College of Health and Human Sciences' Department of Public Health, is leading a five-year, $1.3-million study to look for ways to reverse the trend. Funding is being provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Although women from diverse backgrounds experience unintended pregnancies, high rates of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, Latina women are disproportionately at risk," Harvey said. "Nationally, the unintended pregnancy rate for Latinas is estimated to be 69 per 1,000 for women aged 15-44, almost two times the rate for non-Hispanic white women."

Latinos account for a greater proportion of AIDS cases than their representation in the U.S. population overall, and have the second-highest AIDS case rate in the nation. In 2002, HIV was the sixth- leading cause of death for Latinos ages 25-34.

Very limited research and only a handful of interventions have addressed rural Latino access and use of reproductive health services and promotion of safer-sex practices, Harvey said.

In Oregon, the Latino population is growing at a dramatic rate in both urban and rural areas.

"For example, between 2000 and 2003 alone, 23 of Oregon’s 26 counties experienced double-digit percentage growth of their Latino populations," Harvey said. "Reproductive health disparities for Latinos in Oregon are only likely to increase unless we develop a better understanding of underlying social and contextual issues that drive disparate outcomes for rural Latinos and design innovative solutions."

Researchers will explore how Latino women and men aged 18-25 and health care providers understand and describe factors that influence reproductive health outcomes, Harvey said.

"We will examine individual characteristics such as perceived risk of pregnancy or motivation to prevent pregnancy, contextual and cultural factors currently understood to influence health-seeking behavior such as medical mistrust, racism, health literacy, poverty, acculturation and immigration status, and method characteristics such as effectiveness, hormonal versus non-hormonal, as well as side effects.

"We will also explore the influence of relationship and partner factors such as communication patterns, reproductive decision-making, relationship power and other contextual factors such as health care access and provider influences.”

Researchers will focus on uninsured and underserved Latinos residing in Benton, Linn, Marion and Polk counties in Oregon's Willamette Valley. These counties have an estimated Latino population of 62,000 plus an estimated 47,000 migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families.

"We will conduct interviews with Latino women and men who self-identify as being sexually active with no intention of becoming pregnant or planning to get their partners pregnant in the next year.

"Since a significant number of Latinos in the valley do not have a health care provider, we will include those who do and do not have access to care in our sample. In addition, we will interview and conduct focus groups with health care providers who provide primary care and reproductive health services to Latinos."

Findings from the study will be used in the development of prevention strategies that are community-based and can be used to develop targeted interventions and inform health policies and practices.