Hispanic women's health care provider control expectations: the influence of fatalism and acculturation

In order to understand how culture influences Hispanic women's views about their health care provider (HCP), we examined the relationship between acculturation and fatalism in the HCP control expectations of Hispanic women. (A HCP control expectation is the extent to which an individual believes that her HCP has control over her health.) We predicted that acculturation would be negatively associated with HCP control expectations, and fatalism would be positively associated with HCP control expectations. A group of 1,027 young Hispanic women (mean age 21.24 years; SD=2.46) who were University of Texas Medical Branch clinic patients completed a comprehensive survey. Structural equation modeling was employed and, as predicted, acculturation was negatively associated with HCP control expectations (p<.001) and fatalism was positively associated (p<.001). Understanding fatalism, acculturation, and their influence on HCP control expectations will help us understand this population's perceptions of their HCPs. This knowledge will assist HCPs in providing culturally competent care which will increase adherence to medical treatment and screening guidelines.