Health Affairs · 2000 · 278 citations · 5 references
Undocumented Latinos ComeHealth Care DisparityU.s. CitizenHealth DisparitiesSocial Determinants Of HealthRacial DisparitiesLatino CultureHispanic HealthHealth InequityPublic HealthHealth Services ResearchHealth PolicyHealth Care UseMass ImmigrationSocial EpidemiologyMarried Undocumented LatinosDemographyMedicineHealth DisparityImmigrant Health
The study investigates why undocumented Latino immigrants come to the United States, their health‑care usage, and participation in government programs. Data were drawn from a 1996/1997 survey of undocumented Latino immigrants in four sites. The survey shows that undocumented Latinos primarily migrate for jobs, have low ambulatory care use compared to all Latinos and the general population, similar hospitalization rates except for childbirth, that nearly half of married undocumented Latinos have a U.S.
Using data from a 1996/1997 survey of undocumented Latino immigrants in four sites, we examine reasons for coming to the United States, use of health care services, and participation in government programs. We find that undocumented Latinos come to this country primarily for jobs. Their ambulatory health care use is low compared with that of all Latinos and all persons nationally, and their rates of hospitalization are comparable except for hospitalization for childbirth. Almost half of married undocumented Latinos have a child who is a U.S. citizen. Excluding undocumented immigrants from receiving government-funded health care services is unlikely to reduce the level of immigration and likely to affect the well-being of children who are U.S. citizens living in immigrant households.
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