Abstract

Increasing ethnic diversity in the United States brings new challenges to many fields, including public health. Health care is a salient issue for many Americans, yet many ethnic minorities, immigrants, and people of low socio-economic status are unable to receive appropriate health care for many reasons. Latinos, for example, incur challenges related to health insurance, geographic location, language and communication, and immigration status. In fact, Latinos have the highest rates of uninsured people among all racial or ethnic groups in the U.S., a rate three times higher than that of the non-Hispanic White population. This review of literature examines research concerning these barriers to health care for Latinos living in the U.S. Policy makers should evaluate these barriers when addressing methods to remedy public health issues for this population.