Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd., Portland, OR 97203, USA.
Ethn Health. 2010 Dec;15(6):581-99. doi: 10.1080/13557858.2010.500018.
This study explored health beliefs and healthcare-seeking behaviors of older USA-dwelling Mexicans and Mexican-Americans using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a conceptual guide.
A mixed-method cross-sectional design was utilized using semi-structured interviews to obtain detailed descriptions of 31 older (50+) participants' behavioral, normative, and control beliefs about health and healthcare utilization. An interview schedule consisting of open-ended and demographic questions and one standardized tool, the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale (BAS) for Hispanics, was used to collect data.
Several themes emerged for each belief area. Behavioral belief themes reflect participants' faith in, comfort with, and knowledge of traditional methods of care (e.g., herbs, teas, and use of curanderas) as well as their faith in the effectiveness of conventional care (e.g., medicine, technology, and use of physicians). Normative belief themes indicate that participants perceive that family and community contacts support participants' use of traditional methods and that family supports use of conventional methods. Control belief themes suggest that traditional methods are accessible and affordable but that conventional methods are not. BAS scored indicated that most (90.3%) participants adhered to Hispanic culture. Two (6.5%) participants adhered to non-Hispanic culture and one (3.2%) scored as bi-cultural.
Themes from the data suggest that beliefs about healthcare impact the types of care utilized and the ways in which they are utilized. Clinicians and researchers striving to reduce health disparities and develop more culturally competent healthcare services for ethnic minority groups should work toward a better understanding of minority groups' belief systems about healthcare and its utilization. Utilization of the TPB allows for empirical model development that can better predict healthcare utilization behavior, further augmenting efforts to provide services that will help reduce health disparities for older Mexicans and Mexican-Americans and other populations.
本研究以计划行为理论（TPB）为概念指导，探讨了美国老年墨西哥裔和墨西哥裔美国人的健康信念和医疗保健寻求行为。
采用混合方法横断面设计，使用半结构化访谈获取 31 名（50 岁以上）参与者对健康和医疗保健利用的行为、规范和控制信念的详细描述。访谈计划包括开放性和人口统计学问题以及一个标准化工具，即西班牙语裔双维度文化适应量表（BAS），用于收集数据。
每个信念领域都出现了几个主题。行为信念主题反映了参与者对传统护理方法（如草药、茶和使用_curanderas_）的信任、舒适和了解，以及他们对常规护理效果的信任（如药物、技术和使用医生）。规范信念主题表明，参与者认为家庭和社区联系支持参与者使用传统方法，家庭支持使用常规方法。控制信念主题表明，传统方法是可及且负担得起的，但常规方法不行。BAS 评分表明，大多数（90.3%）参与者坚持西班牙裔文化。两名（6.5%）参与者坚持非西班牙裔文化，一名（3.2%）参与者为双文化。
数据中的主题表明，对医疗保健的信念影响了所使用的护理类型和使用方式。努力减少少数民族健康差距并为少数民族群体开发更具文化能力的医疗保健服务的临床医生和研究人员应该努力更好地了解少数民族群体对医疗保健及其利用的信念体系。TPB 的使用允许开发经验模型，从而更好地预测医疗保健利用行为，进一步增强为减少墨西哥裔和墨西哥裔美国人以及其他人群的健康差距提供服务的努力。
