2 The three largest subgroups include Mexican Americans (about 65 percent), mostly settled in the Southwest, Puerto Ricans (9.1 percent) in the urban Northeast, and Cuban Americans (3.5 percent) in Florida.
1 By 2050, it is projected that they will comprise up to 30 percent of the U.S. population in 2009, making them the largest minority group. 1 Latinos comprised nearly 16 percent of the U.S. Latino refers to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The ethnic terms Latino or Hispanic refer to a diverse population of Latin American descent that includes many nationalities and races. Some cultural barriers may be overcome by using the “teach back” technique to ensure that directions are correctly understood and by creating a welcoming health care environment for Latino patients. The LEARN technique can facilitate cross-cultural interviews. Physicians must be sensitive to Latino cultural values of simpatia (kindness), personalismo (relationship), respeto (respect), and modestia (modesty). Many-but not all-folk and herbal treatments can be safely accommodated with conventional therapy.
It is important to explore the use of alternative therapies and belief in traditional folk illnesses, recognizing that health beliefs are dependent on education, socioeconomic status, and degree of acculturation. Other health problems include stress, neurocysticercosis, and tuberculosis. Latinos have disproportionately higher rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus. The National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services address these concerns with recommendations for culturally competent care, language services, and organizational support. These barriers include language, lack of insurance, different cultural beliefs, and in some cases, illegal immigration status, mistrust, and illiteracy. Barriers to care have resulted in striking disparities in quality of health care for these patients.
Latinos are a diverse ethnic group that includes many different cultures, races, and nationalities. population, and this proportion is anticipated to increase to 30 percent by 2050. Latinos comprise nearly 16 percent of the U.S.