Abstract
The objective of this study is to estimate Hispanic/non-Hispanic (nH)-white health disparities and assess the extent to which
disparities can be explained by immigrant status and household primary language. The 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health
was funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National
Center for Health Statistics as a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey. We calculated disparities
for various health indicators between Hispanic and nH-white children, and used logistic regression to adjust them for socio-economic
and demographic characteristics, primary language spoken in the household, and the child’s immigrant status. Controlling for
language and immigrant status greatly reduces health disparities, although it does not completely eliminate all disparities
showing poorer outcomes for Hispanic children. English-speaking and nonimmigrant Hispanic children are more similar to nH-white
children than are Hispanic children in non-English speaking households or immigrant children. Hispanic/nH-white health disparities
among children are largely driven by that portion of the Hispanic population that is either newly-arrived to this country
or does not speak primarily English in the household.
disparities can be explained by immigrant status and household primary language. The 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health
was funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National
Center for Health Statistics as a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey. We calculated disparities
for various health indicators between Hispanic and nH-white children, and used logistic regression to adjust them for socio-economic
and demographic characteristics, primary language spoken in the household, and the child’s immigrant status. Controlling for
language and immigrant status greatly reduces health disparities, although it does not completely eliminate all disparities
showing poorer outcomes for Hispanic children. English-speaking and nonimmigrant Hispanic children are more similar to nH-white
children than are Hispanic children in non-English speaking households or immigrant children. Hispanic/nH-white health disparities
among children are largely driven by that portion of the Hispanic population that is either newly-arrived to this country
or does not speak primarily English in the household.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-9
- DOI 10.1007/s10995-012-0988-9
- Authors
- Rosa M. Avila, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2120, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA
- Matthew D. Bramlett, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2111, Hyattsville, MD 20782, USA
- Journal Maternal and Child Health Journal
- Online ISSN 1573-6628
- Print ISSN 1092-7875