The Latino population is the nation's largest minority group at an estimated 47 million in 2008 and is predicted to make up 30% of the US population by 2050. At the same time, chronic diseases among Latinos are on the rise and require long-range strategies to prevent and clinically manage. Understanding the healthcare of this fastest growing population is critical to the healthcare debate and reform initiatives.
The Network for Multicultural Research on Health and Healthcare, a consortium of researchers from major research institutions around the country, examines healthcare disparities affecting minorities with chronic diseases and has produced a special supplement of the Journal of General Internal Medicine examining Latinos and healthcare, shedding light on important issues that have been left out of the healthcare reform debate.
This issue, Confronting Inequities in Latino Health Care, comprises nine studies examining hypertension, diabetes, health insurance coverage, discrimination, quality of care, spirituality, preventive care, and other topics on Latino health and healthcare.
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