Hispanic Women's Health: A lens into Gender-Specific Healthcare needs

By: Neha Mahindrakar

Hispanic women in the United States face a unique set of healthcare challenges that are influenced by cultural, socioeconomic, and systemic factors. As the Hispanic population continues growing, it is important that Hispanic women’s health become an essential area of focus to improve healthcare equity.

Cultural and Social Influences on Health

Much like the Indian community where I grew up, Hispanic women’s health decisions are often shaped by strong family values, cultural norms, and traditional beliefs. In many Hispanic families, women are primary caregivers, responsible for the well-being of their children and elderly relatives. This caregiving role can leave women with limited time and resources to focus on their own health.

Language barriers are another key cultural factor that affects Hispanic women's health. Communication challenges with healthcare providers often leads to misunderstandings, misdiagnoses, or delayed preventative care.

Reproductive and Maternal Health

One of the most prominent areas where gender specific healthcare concerns lie with the Hispanic population is reproductive and maternal health. Due to the cultural factors that promote larger families and prevalent taboo around sex education, Hispanic women have higher rates of unintended pregnancies.

Access to prenatal and postnatal care is another issue that disproportionately affects Hispanic women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hispanic women are less likely to receive adequate prenatal care, which can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth, low birth weight, and maternal complications.

Furthermore, the maternal mortality rate for Hispanic women in the U.S. has been on the rise, with studies indicating that Hispanic women, especially those of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, have a higher risk of pregnancy-related complications, including preeclampsia and gestational diabetes.

Chronic Diseases and Preventive Care

Hispanic women are at higher risk for several chronic conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, which are all significant contributors to morbidity and mortality. Hispanic women are also more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and are at greater risk of cardiovascular disease compared to non-Hispanic white women. And yet, the access they receive to diagnostic and treatment facilities is disproportionate (1).

Breast cancer, for example, is the most common cancer among Hispanic women, yet they are less likely to participate in regular mammograms or clinical breast exams compared to non-Hispanic women (2).

Conclusion

With my time treating the Hispanic patient population in the United States, it was hard not to draw parallels with my upbringing in India and the shared adversity that the women share in both cultures. Women have historically been overlooked and under-represented in various sectors, but healthcare should absolutely not be one of them. Culturally inclusive health care practices, improving access to affordable healthcare and promoting preventative as well as reproductive health among the community are ways towards an equitable system.

Citations

Fukuoka Y, Oh YJ. Perceived Risk of Heart Attack and Type 2 Diabetes in Hispanic Adults With Overweight and Obesity. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2022 Nov-Dec 01;37(6):E197-E205. doi: 10.1097/JCN.0000000000000866. Epub 2021 Nov 2. PMID: 34740229; PMCID: PMC9721306.
https://www.komen.org/breast-cancer/screening/screening-disparities/