Latino health in California, 1985-1990: implications for family practice

Family practice, especially when applied to the Community-oriented Primary Care model, needs to incorporate the epidemiological profile and health care needs of a particular community. The rapidly growing Latino population is creating a great number of largely Latino communities. While they tend to have high poverty rates and low education rates, their family and health profiles contradict many assumptions made about poor, underserved minority groups. Data for the 29.8 million California residents, including 7.7 million Latinos, show a strong Latino health profile. Compared to Anglos and blacks, Latinos have high complete nuclear family rates and low non-family rates. They have low rates of low birth weight babies and low infant mortality, about equal to the rate among Anglos and Asians. Latinos also have lower age-adjusted death rates due to heart disease, strokes, and cancers, again, about equal to Asians. Latinos do, however, have higher death rates due to motor vehicle accidents and cirrhosis than Anglos, blacks, or Asians and a diabetes death rate higher than Anglos or Asians. Surprisingly, Latinos have lower age-adjusted death rates due to drug-related causes and weapons-related causes than Anglos or blacks, but substantially higher than Asians. It is suggested that, much against the stereotype, Latinos should be considered a high-level wellness population for whom family practice, based on prevention and primary care, would be an ideal match.