Department of Health Promotion, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, 68198-4373, USA.
Department of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2019 Aug;6(4):701-706. doi: 10.1007/s40615-019-00568-x. Epub 2019 Feb 12.
Predictions from the US census indicate that by 2060 one of every three individuals living in the nation will be of Hispanic origin. Hispanics experience health disparities manifested with higher rates of chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes in contrast with other US population groups. Health literacy and acculturation have been well identified as key contributors for this issue. However, very few studies have examined the association between health literacy and levels of acculturation in Spanish-speaking Hispanics living in rural and urban areas of the USA.
To assess the prevalence and association of acculturation with low levels of health literacy and demographic variables in Spanish-speaking Hispanics in the US Midwest.
We measured levels of acculturation in Spanish-speaking adult Hispanics (N = 401) accessing community health centers in rural and urban Nebraska. We used a survey that included the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale for Hispanics/Linguistic Proficiency Subscale (BAS/LP) and the Short Assessment of Health Literacy in Spanish (SAHL-S).
We observed similar acculturation levels with rural and urban status participants. A total of 85% of the total participants had low levels of acculturation to US culture. Of the 15% of the participants who showed themselves to be bicultural, 81% reported adequate levels of health literacy in Spanish.
Our findings are consistent with previous studies that report the associations between acculturation and health literacy levels are significant. This study underscores the importance of considering the cultural aspects of the Hispanic community for the development of health literacy interventions and education programs.
根据美国人口普查的预测，到 2060 年，美国每三个人中就有一个是西班牙裔。与其他美国人群体相比，西班牙裔存在健康差距，表现为高血压和糖尿病等慢性疾病的发病率较高。健康素养和文化适应已被确定为这一问题的关键因素。然而，很少有研究调查过居住在美国农村和城市地区的讲西班牙语的西班牙裔人群中健康素养与文化适应水平之间的关系。
评估美国中西部讲西班牙语的西班牙裔人群中健康素养水平与文化适应程度以及人口统计学变量之间的关联。
我们测量了在农村和城市内布拉斯加州社区卫生中心就诊的讲西班牙语的成年西班牙裔（N=401）的文化适应程度。我们使用了一项包括双维度西班牙裔/语言熟练度文化适应量表（BAS/LP）和西班牙语简短健康素养评估（SAHL-S）的调查。
我们观察到农村和城市状态参与者的文化适应水平相似。总共有 85%的参与者对美国文化的文化适应程度较低。在 15%表现出双文化的参与者中，81%报告了西班牙语健康素养水平充足。
我们的研究结果与之前的研究一致，这些研究报告了文化适应与健康素养水平之间的关联是显著的。这项研究强调了考虑西班牙裔社区文化方面对于开发健康素养干预措施和教育计划的重要性。
