Health Care Quality Perceptions among Foreign-Born Latinos and the Importance of Speaking the Same Language

Hector M. González; William A. Vega; Wassim Tarraf

doi:10.3122/jabfm.2010.06.090264

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Table 1.

Sample Characteristics of the Foreign-born Latino Respondents in the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Latino Health Survey (n = 2921)

	Foreign Born
English proficiency (mean [SE])	2.56 (0.04)
Age (mean years [SE])	40.59 (0.3)
Language concordant	82.4 (0.9)
Female	46.6 (1.1)
Health insurance coverage	59.6 (1)
Income (US$)
0–14,999	27.8 (0.9)
15,000–24,999	26.2 (0.9)
25,000–34,999	20.5 (0.9)
35,000–59,999	18 (0.9)
≥60,000	7.5 (0.6)
Education
0–8 years	30 (0.9)
9–11 years	19.7 (0.8)
High school graduate	27.1 (1)
Some college	13.8 (0.8)
College degree or higher	9.4 (0.6)

Values provided as percent (SE) unless otherwise indicated.

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Table 2.

Logistic Regression Results from the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Latino Health Survey of Patient and Provider Language Use and Health Care Quality Ratings among Foreign-born Latinos Who Received Medical Care during the Past 12 Months in the United States (n = 2663)*

	Confusion Experience	Frustration Experience	Healthcare Language Bias
		English Proficiency
English proficiency	0.98 (0.92–1.05)	0.98 (0.92–1.04)	0.92 (0.82–1.03)
Income (US$)
0–14,999	1.00	1.00	1.00
15,000–24,999	0.86 (0.65–1.13)	0.99 (0.76–1.29)	0.95 (0.60–1.51)
25,000–34,999	0.87 (0.65–1.18)	0.92 (0.69–1.24)	0.93 (0.55–1.56)
35,000–59,999	1.00 (0.72–1.39)	1.21 (0.88–1.66)	1.23 (0.67–2.27)
≥60,000	0.44^* (0.25–0.77)	0.53^† (0.32–0.88)	0.72 (0.28–1.88)
Education
0–8 years	1.00	1.00	1.00
9–11 years	0.92 (0.68–1.24)	0.78^‡ (0.58–1.03)	0.62 (0.36–1.09)
High school graduate	1.01 (0.76–1.33)	0.92 (0.70–1.21)	0.94 (0.59–1.52)
Some college	0.77 (0.51–1.15)	0.84 (0.57–1.23)	0.87 (0.42–1.81)
College degree or higher	0.81 (0.52–1.28)	0.71 (0.45–1.11)	0.56 (0.26–1.20)
Health insurance coverage	0.68^* (0.55–0.85)	0.75^* (0.60–0.92)	0.90 (0.60–1.36)
		Language Concordance
Language concordance	0.78^‡ (0.59–1.01)	0.72^* (0.55–0.94)	0.40^* (0.27–0.61)
Income (US$)
0–14,999	1.00	1.00	1.00
15,000–24,999	0.86 (0.65–1.14)	1.00 (0.77–1.30)	0.93 (0.58–1.48)
25,000–34,999	0.86 (0.64–1.17)	0.91 (0.68–1.23)	0.88 (0.52–1.48)
35,000–59,999	1.03 (0.74–1.42)	1.22 (0.89–1.68)	1.13 (0.62–2.04)
≥60,000	0.44^* (0.25–0.77)	0.52^* (0.31–0.85)	0.60 (0.24–1.50)
Education
0–8 years	1.00	1.00	1.00
9–11 years	0.87 (0.65–1.17)	0.74^† (0.55–0.98)	0.54^† (0.31–0.94)
High school graduate	0.93 (0.71–1.22)	0.85 (0.65–1.11)	0.79 (0.49–1.27)
Some college	0.70^‡ (0.48–1.03)	0.78 (0.55–1.11)	0.69 (0.35–1.34)
College degree or higher	0.76 (0.50–1.15)	0.64^† (0.42–0.97)	0.47^† (0.23–0.96)
Health insurance coverage	0.69^* (0.55–0.87)	0.73^* (0.59–0.91)	0.87 (0.58–1.31)

Data provided as odds ratio (95% CI).
* P < .01.
† P < .05.
‡ P < .10.

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Table 3.

Ordered Logistic Regression Model Results from the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Latino Health Survey of Models of Patient and Provider Language Use and Health Care Quality Ratings among Foreign-Born Latinos Who Received Medical Care during the Past 12 Months in the United States (n = 2663)

	Quality of Care
	Model 1	Model 2	Model 3
English proficiency	1.04^‡ (0.99–1.10)	—	1.03 (0.98–1.09)
Language concordance	—	1.44^* (1.12–1.84)	1.42^* (1.11–1.82)
Income (US$)
0–14,999	1.00	1.00	1.00
15,000–24,999	0.99 (0.78–1.25)	0.99 (0.78–1.26)	0.98 (0.77–1.24)
25,000–34,999	0.94 (0.73–1.22)	0.97 (0.75–1.25)	0.96 (0.74–1.24)
35,000–59,999	0.94 (0.72–1.22)	0.97 (0.74–1.26)	0.94 (0.72–1.22)
≥60,000	1.54^† (1.06–2.25)	1.72^* (1.18–2.50)	1.62^† (1.10–2.39)
Education
0–8 years	1.00	1.00	1.00
9–11 years	1.36^* (1.07–1.74)	1.42^* (1.11–1.81)	1.38^* (1.08–1.77)
High school graduate	1.18 (0.93–1.49)	1.26^‡ (0.99–1.60)	1.21 (0.95–1.55)
Some college	1.44^† (1.06–1.94)	1.56^* (1.17–2.07)	1.46^† (1.07–1.99)
College degree or higher	1.63^* (1.12–2.36)	1.84^* (1.29–2.63)	1.69^* (1.16–2.48)
Health insurance coverage	1.25^† (1.04–1.50)	1.25^† (1.04–1.51)	1.24^† (1.03–1.49)