Insights from a COVID-era health needs assessment of rural Midwestern Latinos

ABSTRACT

Latino health and well-being are crucial to the growth and vibrancy of rural areas across the United States, particularly at a time when the demographics of many rural communities are transitioning from minority Latino to majority Latino populations. This manuscript details the findings of a study that explored the health and healthcare benefit status of 524 Latino households in rural Indiana during the COVID-19 pandemic. Via 20-minute, door-to-door interviews conducted by bilingual researchers, survey participants answered questions about access to healthcare services and benefits, dietary and safety habits, medical issues, and vaccination status. The study found that slightly more than half of those surveyed were enrolled in healthcare benefit plans; approximately a third were unsatisfied with their health/health status; almost two-thirds had not received a flu shot and were eating fast food/processed food on a daily basis. Top health concerns reported included: stress (52%), vision problems (34%), neck and back pain (30%), headaches/migraines (28%), anxiety and depression (28%) and weight problems (26%). The study also discovered that half of the respondents could not identify a primary healthcare provider (PCP) by name and that pregnant women faced a lack of resources for maternal health in the county where the study was conducted. The results indicate that Latinos in rural communities continue to endure significant health issues and barriers to healthcare. The study provides an excellent model of how a rural community can monitor the health of its residents, which can inform health interventions for underserved populations.

KEYWORDS:

• Access to health/healthcare
• health status
• hispanic
• immigrants
• Latino
• rural

Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good health and well-being
• SDG 10: Reduced inequalities
• SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors contribution

Dr. Melinda Grismer, Dr. Nathalie Duval-Couetil and Dr. Soohyun Yi contributed to the study conception/design and to the material preparation, data collection and analysis/interpretation. Dr. Austin Dukes contributed to this article’s introduction, as well as to the health interventions that resulted from this study. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Melinda Grismer, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript/approved the final.

Data availability statement

Raw data and study materials are secured according to IRB protocol; authors can access the code used for analysis.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a $40,000 research grant from the Indiana Minority Health Coalition made available in August 2020 (Research Grant Agreement No. 20090376). This study received IRB approval from Purdue University (IRB-2020-489) on Aug. 7, 2020.