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Limited English proficiency is a barrier to good health care Two new studies emphasize the importance of English proficiency to ensure adequate medical care. One study evaluated the quality of health care to 1,792 Latinos who had health insurance. Forty percent of the subjects described their English as “poor” or “fair.” Latinos in this group scored lower on three of four health care quality measures. They were twice as likely as Latinos with “good” to “excellent” English to have no regular source of health care or to lack continuity of care. Latinos with limited English also had more problems with long waits in the waiting room and with getting medical advice by telephone. English proficiency did not affect the ability to get medical appointments by phone. Another study, by the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, found some substance to the widely-accepted belief that Latinos in the U.S. tend to be healthier than the average population. The results reveal that, of seven key health outcomes, the Latino’s tend to have getter outcomes for mental health issues, asthma and high blood pressure. Source: “Hispanics’ Limited English Proficiency is a Barrier for Getting Good Health Care Services,” Associated Content, November 5, 2007, http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/437168/hispanics_limited_english_proficiency.html, and “Revisiting the Latino Health Paradox,” The Thomas Rivera Policy Institute, August 2007, http://www.trpi.org/PDFs/Latino%20Paradox%20Aug%202007%20PDF.pdf
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