Usual source of health care among Hispanic children: the implications of immigration

Deep inequities continue to exist in the access to and sources of care across racial and ethnic groups in the United States. This research examines differences in the regular source of usual health care for children among Hispanic subgroups of the United States. The immigration status of the mother -- including nativity, duration in the United States, and citizenship status -- as well as sociodemographic factors are considered as significant influences on the type of regular sources of care. Using the National Health Interview Survey from 1999 to 2001, multinomial logistic regression models are estimated to compare Mexican American and other Hispanic children with non-Hispanic whites and blacks. Both Mexican Americans and other Hispanics were more likely to report the use of clinic or the emergency room over private doctor's office as their regular source of health care compared with non-Hispanic whites. Together, the impact of the mother's nativity, duration, and citizenship status explains much of the differentials in the sources of care among Mexican American and other Hispanic children compared with non-Hispanic whites.