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Saturday, October 31, 2009: 3:35 PM
Learning Objective 1: discuss risks of cardiovascular disease in Latino men and barriers that prevent them from being screened for disease.
Learning Objective 2: identify motivating factors that may convince Latino men to be screened for cardiovascular disease.
Problem: The growing Latino population in the United States accounts for 14% of the total population and 47% of the population in some counties in Washington. Cardiovascular disease (CD) is the leading cause of death across all races and ethnicities. Latino men suffer disproportionately from conditions that lead to CD such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. There are easy and inexpensive ways to screen for certain cardiovascular conditions, but before screening occurs, it is important to identify motivators to participate in a health screening. Purpose: This qualitative descriptive study determined what motivates Latino men to participate in health screening for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, all problems that can lead to cardiovascular disease. Method: Self-identified Latino men (n=18) were interviewed following a community health screening in Walla Walla, Washington. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted in Spanish or English. All but 3 interviews were audiotaped. Transcribed texts were analyzed using content analysis. Results: 2 themes and subthemes emerged: 1) motivating factors to participate in health screening; a) church support and the pastor’s announcements and encouragement, b) the impact of illnesses suffered by the participants’ family, friends, and co-workers, c) interest in maintaining their current health status, d) wife’s encouragement, and e) fear that something is wrong with them; 2) barriers to health screening; a) procrastination, b) cost incurred, c) fear that something is wrong, d) had no symptoms, e) not aware of any problems, and, f) health is not a priority. Significance and implications: Understanding why Latino men do or do not seek screening for risks of cardiovascular disease enhances health promotion and disease detection efforts among the Latino population nationwide. Findings will be used to develop and test culturally relevant strategies to increase the number of Latino men in Washington State who receive health screening for CD.