Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Friday, July 23, 2004
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Barriers to Care for Caribbean/West Indies Immigrants to the USA
Sande Gracia Jones, PhD, ARNP, FAAN, ACRN, C, CS, BC, School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Florida International University, North Miami, FL, USA
Objective: South Florida is the epicenter for Caribbean/West Indies immigration to the USA (Census Bureau, 2000). Minority clients in a study of South Florida HIV/AIDS community care reported language and cultural differences as barriers to care (Jones, et al, 2002). Study purpose was to determine nurses’ perceptions of barriers to care for Caribbean/West Indies clients. Design: Descriptive exploratory Population, setting, sample, years: Participants were 90 attendees at the 2003 Caribbean/West Indies Cultural Competency Program for Nurses. Program was co-sponsored by Florida International University School of Nursing and the Florida Nurses Association (FNA) Cultural Diversity Task Force. Program was funded by the Aetna Foundation, held initially in Miami Beach and repeated in Daytona Beach. Participants were from clinical and academic settings. Final sample was 60 attendees (n=60). Concept or variables studied together: Barriers to care Method: A seven-item open-ended researcher-developed questionnaire was distributed to attendees at the start of the program. The questionnaire included demographic data and asked participants to describe priority health care needs for Caribbean/West Indies clients, and then identify barriers to care. Participants were asked to voluntarily complete and return the questionnaire at the end of the program. Findings: Four areas were identified as priority health care needs: Immunizations; maternal-child and prenatal care; health screenings and annual physical exams; and health promotion disease- specific education. Four areas were identified as barriers to care: Fear of health care system/distrust of health care providers; language /communication problems; problems related to cultural differences; and access to care related to finances. Conclusions: Results revealed areas for improvement to facilitate health care access. Nurses also identified language and cultural competency skills as barriers to care, in congruence with Jones (2002) client care study. Implications: Programs to enhance linguistic/cultural nursing care are needed to decrease barriers to care in the community.
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