Health seeking behaviors of Haitian families for their school aged children.

Providing culturally sensitive health care to diverse groups would be enhanced by better understanding of their experiences with the health care system and perceptions of health and illness. Haitians comprise an immigrant group that has increased dramatically in the United States over the past three decades. The purposes of this study were to identify the health seeking behaviors of Haitian parents for their school-aged children and the barriers they experienced in obtaining health care services. Sixty-two Haitian parents and guardians were interviewed. Findings highlighted a lack of health insurance coverage, frequent use of private providers, general satisfaction with health care services, and strong parental values regarding preventive health care behaviors. Parents also reported the combined use of traditional remedies and biomedical treatments during their child's illness episodes. Implications for practice and future research with Haitian parents and children are identified.