2008-08-13 23:31:01 -

www.allhealth.org - To help Hispanics, national health reform must include more than just expanded access to health insurance, the president of the National Hispanic Medical Association said Wednesday.

"We need health reform plus," said Dr. Elena Rios, with a big boost in health education for adults and children, and more training in cultural sensitivity for health care providers. She

spoke at a briefing for reporters sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Among Hispanics in the U.S. lacking a usual source of health care, 45 percent already have health insurance, according to a study discussed at the briefing. The study was conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The term "health care provider" in the future should mean more than doctors and nurses, Dr. Rios said. "It's a health care team with community linkages...We need the nutritionists and the educators...to be part of the team." Education about diabetes and preventing obesity is crucial to Hispanics, she said.

Mass media should be an important part of health education, panelists at the briefing agreed. The Pew - Robert Wood Johnson study found that Latinos report getting health information from television almost as much as from medical professionals. The third most common source of health information was family and friends, with print media in fourth place.

"Health communications need to be targeted at (Hispanics) less than 30 years old," Dr. Rios said. Such health education messages should be appropriate for those with low literacy skills, as well as for those who speak both English and Spanish, she added. "There's got to be a new media approach (using) the internet and cable (and) social marketing."

But panelists pointed out that having health insurance is still important for Hispanics, the largest ethnic group in the U.S. and the ethnic group most likely to be uninsured; more than one in three Hispanics lacks coverage.

The Pew - Robert Wood Johnson study shows that Hispanics with health insurance are much more likely than the uninsured to get preventive care, such as blood pressure checks and monitoring of cholesterol and blood sugar.

"Having equitable access (to care) affects the entire U.S. population, but especially affects the U.S. Latino population," said Dr. William Vega, professor of medicine at the University of California - Los Angeles School of Medicine.

Also speaking at the briefing were Debra Joy Perez of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Susan Minushkin of the Pew Hispanic Center, and Sumi Sousa, health advisor to the speaker of the California Assembly.

Alliance for Health Reform
William Erwin, 202-789-2300
BillErwin@allhealth.org
or
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Adam Coyne, 609-627-5894
ACoyne@rwjf.org
or
Pew Hispanic Center
Susan Minushkin, 202-419-3611
sminushkin@pewhispanic.org
or
UCLA Medical School
Dr. William Vega, 609-977-0703
WVega@mednet.ucla.edu
or
National Hispanic Medical Association
Dr. Elena Rios, 202-628-5895
nhma@nhmamd.org
or
California Assembly
Sumi Sousa, 916-612-4780
Sumi.Sousa@asm.ca.gov