Factors influencing low prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities among Latino/Hispanic children

• In Event: 2320 - Section on Disability in Society Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 1 Section on Disability in Society Refereed Roundtables

Abstract

Latino/Hispanic (HL) children have substantially lower prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities than other groups. The reasons for this are complex, but are generally thought to be related to language barriers and lack of access to and utilization of healthcare services. Research has examined these factors in Latino children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD). This study seeks to examine if these factors explain low prevalence of NDD in this population. This study uses nationally representative IPUMS-NHIS data with multivariate analyses to compare NDD prevalence in whites and Hispanics/Latinos and examines whether healthcare access, healthcare utilization, language barriers, and time since immigration explain this disability disparity. Findings reveal that the HL NDD disparity is not explained by differences in access to or utilization of healthcare or as a result of spoken language differences that may create barriers to NDD diagnosis. However, while HLs born in the U.S. have lower rates of NDD than whites, HLs who were not born in the U.S. have even lower probability of NDD than HLs who were born in the U.S. These findings may be as a result of cultural differences in understanding of social behavior or differential treatment within the U.S. healthcare system.

Authors

• Sarah Garcia, University of Minnesota

• Jennifer Hall-Lande, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota

• Kelly Nye-Lengerman, Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota