National Hispanic Nurses Group Discusses Health Disparities

Prof. Daniel Berman, who teaches graduate-level nursing courses, and Sarah Torres, PhD, associate dean of the College of Health Sciences, both of Walden University (photo: Eduardo A. de Oliveira, NEWz)

One question served as a common thread at each of the 15 sessions of the 33rd Annual Conference of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN): How do you effectively address health disparities?

Held in Boston last week, the conference attracted dozens of nurses from across the U.S., plus doctors and academics, who debated how Hispanic nurses are shaping the future of health care.

Based on the association's own statistics, much hard work is needed. Hispanics represent only 2.4 percent of registered nurses in the United States - but Spanish speakers make up 14.2 percent of the total U.S. population.

For Sara Torres, associate dean of the School of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences of Walden University, the best way to reverse such a disparity is by betting on education.

"We need to start recruiting Hispanic [nurses] as early as in junior high school. We also have to work with...faculty to make sure they are sensitive to the needs of the Hispanic population," says Torres, a former president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

Torres is editing a book about recruiting Hispanics into nursing, due in October, and her research has pointed to the need for more scholarships for Spanish speakers.

"Hispanic need role models. They need to see more people having PhDs, like me," she said.

It is common to see Latino parents working two jobs. But this hunger for financial stability has a toll, and is responsible for one of the most common health issues that affect Hispanic communities across the country: depression.

Daniel Berman, PsyD, RN, teaches a graduate-level course, "Preserving and Promoting Health in a Diverse Society," and also believes the best antidote health disparities comes from the classroom.

Many of his students' projects focus on the mental health problems that stem from Latino communities.

"The students visit churches and clinics to talk about mental health and the symptoms of depression. Some clinics carry on the recommendations of their research. We have very good results, and I believe this could be a model for the country," he says.

Nurse practitioner Veronica Pena-Vargas, of North Shore Medical Center, in Haverhill, Mass., agrees that one of the greatest problems affecting Hispanic communities is lack of education.

"If we had more Hispanic nurses it would certainly increase the level of patient education.. Right now, many providers don't speak their patients' language, so they don't understand their culture," she says.

In 2004, a survey conducted by the Cultural Access Group showed that 69 percent of Hispanics prefer to speak Spanish when consulting a physician or a healthcare professional.

In that environment, embracing cultural competency is a must, say nurses of the Massachusetts nursing chapter of the NAHN.

Chapter president Natalia Sedo, of Urban Medical Group in Jamaica Plain in Boston, Mass., admits the task is not always easy. Hispanics are a diverse group.

"The hard part of applying cultural competency is that you can't study just one group. You really have to understand the people you're working with, their cultural habits, what they eat. Although institutions try, it's very hard to be effective when your resources permit that you can only focus on one issue at a time," says Sedo.

Hopes are still running high, as both Pena-Vargas and Sedon view Massachusetts' health reform as a role model for the country. However, there's still a void in healthcare access waiting to be filled.

"Having health insurance does not always guarantee that there will be a primary care doctor available to see Hispanic families in their communities," says Sedo.

As for undocumented families, they say, many are being penalized for not having health insurance when they were left out of the reform.

"And affordability is still an issue, as families are being forced to choose between feeding their children, buying medication or having health insurance," says Pena-Vargas.

But to smooth the rough edges of some difficult medical topics and to prepare the audience for the long debates, author Carmen Tafolla appealed to the Hispanics' pride in a healthy way.

Tafolla talked about how cultivating family values is paramount in the Hispanic culture.

"We have a lot of contributions to make with our values. We respect all ages, not only the people between ages 12 and 50," joked Tafolla, the daughter of Mexican immigrants.

"Have you ever tried to leave the casa?" she asked, referring to the long line of kisses and hugs you're always required to endure when leaving a relative's home.

"We call everybody ‘my son' or ‘my daughter.' That's part of our values, where we belong, who we are," she said.

If Hispanics look at the shortage of 800,000 Spanish-speaking nurses by 2020, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics, they might not have too many reasons to laugh after all.

But Tafolla's humor certainly eased the way to the long and hard work that lay ahead.

source: EthnicNewz.org

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