Health care access and utilization among Hispanic manufacturing workers along the Texas-Mexico border

Disparities in health care access, including utilization of preventive health services, are well-documented among ethnic minority populations. This study examines factors associated with health care access and utilization among Hispanic manufacturing employees along the Texas-Mexico border. A cross-sectional survey was administered in 2010 to 228 mostly male (71%) workers. About half of participants (53%) lacked health insurance, which emerged as the most important variable related to health care access and utilization. In multivariate logistic regression analyses, relative to insured workers, uninsured workers were significantly more likely to delay getting medical care (p<.001) and to need medical services that they could not afford (p<.05). They were also less likely to receive a flu vaccine (p<.001). Additionally, uninsured women were less likely to receive screening for cervical cancer compared to insured women (p<.05). Findings support the promotion of employment-based health insurance and education programs stressing the importance of preventive health services.