Routine physical examination and forgone health care among Latino adolescent immigrants in the United States

Knowledge concerning patterns of health care utilization among Latino-adolescent immigrants is needed to develop culturally-appropriate programs. The objectives of this study were to estimate the annual prevalence of having had a routine physical exam and episodes of adolescents' not seeking health care when they thought they should (forgone health care) among Latino adolescents by immigrant-generational status. Cross-sectional analysis of data from Latino adolescents in Wave I of the National Longitudinal Adolescent Health Study. First-generation immigrants who had lived in the U.S. < or = 5 years were less likely to receive routine care than third-generation immigrants (39.0% vs. 54.9%). This disparity decreased after adjustment for insurance status, parental education and poverty among Mexican origin adolescents. On average, 16.0% of first-generation immigrants who had lived in the U.S. < or = 5 years and 22.5% of third-generation immigrants reported forgoing health care. After adjustment for age, insurance status, parental education and routine care, recent arrivals were less likely than third-generation immigrants to forgo health care. Recent arrivals were less likely to receive a routine physical exam and to forgo care than third-generation immigrants. Future studies should explore the effect of acculturation on knowledge, beliefs and perceptions about health, illness and care-seeking behaviors.