Using Diabetic Outcomes to Assess Cultural, Language, and Clinical Barriers in the Underserved Latino Population

Abstract

ABSTRACT

USING DIABETIC OUTCOMES TO ASSESS CULTURAL, LANGUAGE, AND CLINICAL BARRIERS IN THE UNDERSERVED LATINO POPULATION

Cynthia Luke, RN

Latinos are the largest ethnicity represented in the United States. They also have the highest incidence of Type 2 Diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetic comorbidities. Although diagnosis and treatment of diabetes can be straight forward, mere information and prescriptions have not resulted in compliance with medications, lasting changes in lifestyle, or measurable improvements in known risk indicators such as HgA1C, blood pressure, or BMI for the underserved Latino/Hispanic population.

This presentation is a review of an article prepared for submission to the Journal of Transcultural Nursing entitled Using Diabetic Outcomes to Assess Cultural, Language, and Clinical Barriers in the Underserved Latino Population. Using culturally competent care continues to be recommended for improving outcomes in underserved populations. The goal of this publication is to offer a consensus of current research the practitioner can use to improve their cultural competence and impact healthcare outcomes in the Latino population.