Return-Path: <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id eA9JYd920141; Thu, 9 Nov 2000 14:34:39 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 14:34:39 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <LAW2-F2829cAgjHXwKH00000226@hotmail.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert@hotmail.com> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:280] Re: Access to Health Care X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Status: O Content-Length: 4287 Lines: 93 I think this issue is important to Adult Ed. and how we see our role in the classroom, because I think access to health insurance and care is as much about parents' ability to advocate for themselves and their children as it is about language. It is not enough to speak English, especially if it is spoken with an accent; the speaker has to be assertive and persistent in self-advocacy and navigating through a complex system in which the front-line workers who serve as gatekeepers do not have the time or inclination to go out of their way to help. If we see our role as one of teaching vocabulary, grammar, etc.--the mechanics and structure of a language-- but not how to use that language, then I think we perpetuate the disparities in power and access to services that are already growing. Truly, all education is political; if we think it's not, then we're part of maintaining the status quo. Eileen >From: "Mary Ann Corley" <macorley1@earthlink.net> >Reply-To: nifl-povracelit@nifl.gov >To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-povracelit@literacy.nifl.gov> >Subject: [NIFL-POVRACELIT:278] Access to Health Care >Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2000 20:15:35 -0500 (EST) > >The following is cross-posted from the nifl-Health listserv. > >Mary Ann Corley >Director, National Center for > Literacy and Social Justice >macorley1@earthlink.net > >***************************************** > >PARENTS' ENGLISH ABILITY AFFECTS CHILDREN'S ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE, CLAIMS >STUDY >The fact that some Hispanic children have inadequate access to health care >could be related to their parents' English-speaking ability, according to a >study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Public >Health. The study looks at how racial and ethnic differences affect >children's access to health care and at these differences' possible >association with health insurance status, socioeconomic status, and >language >ability. The authors' sample included nearly 6,900 children under the age >of 18 who completed the 1996 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). > >The authors found that > >* 6.2 million American children did not have a usual source of care they >used if they were sick or needed health advice; >* When differences in health insurance status and socioeconomic status were >accounted for, 17.2% of Hispanic children and 12.5% of black children >lacked >a usual source of care, compared to 6.0% of white children; >* Children from low-income families were less likely than those from >higher-income families to have a usual source of care; and >* Children whose MEPS interviews were conducted in English were 2.6 times >more likely to have a usual source of care than children whose interviews >were conducted in Spanish. > >According to the study, the fact that Hispanic children were less likely >than white or black children to have a usual source of care is probably due >to the fact that their parents had difficulty discussing health care >concerns in English and because of other characteristics associated with >being a non-English speaker, such as differing knowledge and beliefs about >the health care system and primary care. > >The authors recommend that "programs aimed at reducing racial and ethnic >disparities may most profitably target other characteristics in addition to >family income and lack of health insurance. . . . If one of our national >goals is to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care and >health status, further study is needed to explore additional societal and >health care system factors that may explain these differentials and prove >amenable to intervention." > >Weinick RM, Krauss NA. 2000. Racial/ethnic differences in children's >access to care. American Journal of Public Health 90(11):1771-1774. > >Sandra Smith, MPH, CHES >Health Education Specialist >University of Washington >Center for Health Education & Research >Clinical Instructor, Health Services Dept >Editor, Beginnings: A Practical Guide through Pregnancy >Editor, http://www.PrenatalEd.com > > > _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com.
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