Unreliable Report

Following our discussion last Thursday, I was, much like Paul, a bit skeptical about the reliability of the data included in the “North Carolina Minority Fact Sheet.” The health trends shown for Latinos deviated from the general population and other minorities on some key issues (cause of death, chronic disease prevalence, etc). Initially we attempted to make sense of these deviations, but in the end, a more skeptical conclusion won out: that the data published in this report was unreliable.

At one point, even the idea that state officials had no incentive to correct positive data was stated. The fact that state budget decisions are made based off these statistics makes their apparent inaccuracy even more surprising. The take-home message of this discussion would have to be: don’t take official reports by face-value alone; an in-depth analysis is necessary for any sort of statistic.

The accuracy of perceptions

I also really enjoyed looking at the statistics, especially considering that according to these numbers, Latinos appear to be the most healthy of races. However, the discussion about whether the numbers were low could be attributed to a lack of documentation is also something that was very interesting and important to consider.

Also, hearing the NPR podcast about Siler City was something that I really enjoyed, because in high school, I remember watching a video about Siler City and the way that Latinos were treated. A few years later, it was interesting to hear (from the podcast and from Jakelin) that although some things were changing, there were still a several of the same sentiments.I also really enjoyed looking at the statistics, especially considering that according to these numbers, Latinos appear to be the most healthy of races. However, the discussion about whether the numbers were low could be attributed to a lack of documentation is also something that was very interesting and important to consider.

Also, hearing the NPR podcast about Siler City was something that I really enjoyed, because in high school, I remember watching a video about Siler City and the way that Latinos were treated. A few years later, it was interesting to hear (from the podcast and from Jakelin) that although some things were changing, there were still a several of the same sentiments.

I think a lot of what we discussed (that has been published) last week contributes to a misconception of Latinos, and ultimately can be used against them, and I think in the present day this is an issue that we need to confront.

I think a lot of what we discussed (that has been published) last week contributes to a misconception of Latinos, and ultimately can be used against them, and I think in the present day this is an issue that we need to confront.

Are Latinos Healthier?

So there have been a few comments already about the demographics article we discussed and the strangeness of the data, but I wanted to address some of the highlights that I noticed. Hopefully it won't be overly repetitive! BTW for those who may not know, this is based on the "North Carolina Minority Health Facts" report on Hipanics/Latinos from December 2006.

First, according to the report, the leading cause of death in the Latino community is motor vehicle accidents. How could this be possible in a country where most people die of heart disease and cancer? We discussed briefly about causes: Perhaps latinos are less likely to wear seatbelts (a trip to Ecuador or Peru will illustrate that), perhaps they are packing more individuals into cars due to a shortage of drivers licences (likely due to documentation issues), and the documentation issue might make it less likely for them to call for help in the event of an accident. Another contributor may be that, due to the lesser SES, latinos are probably not driving around the latest SUVs with 15 airbags and top crash-test ratings.

But I would argue that its probably not a serious health risk or problem that needs to be addressed--Latinos may not even be more likely to be involved in a car accident. The Latino population is as much as 10-15 years younger (by population medians) than the majority. At young ages (between 15-35 years of age), motor vehicle-related fatalities are also the main cause of death for the white population.

A stranger and less explicable segment of this data report was the seemingly lower overall mortality rate for the Hispanic population. The report stated that between 2001-2005, mortality rates for Hispanics, non-Hispanic Whites, and African American non-Hispanics were 300, 668, and 849 deaths per 100,000 in the population respectively. So as an African American, your probability of dying was almost 3 times higher than a Latino between those years, despite the status of both populations as minorities. Now, just because you are a minority doesn't mean you have a worse health portfolio on average. For example, Asian-Americans have much better health on average than Non-Hispanic Whites. But based on SES, Latinos should have a lower health status than Whites, and therefore a higher mortality rate.

Is this reportedly better health profile a reflection of actual better health among Latinos? It is possible, as immigrants tend to be healthier when first arriving to the new country. But we should also be critical and skeptical, especially as this data will be used to dictate policy. Does this data misrepresent the Latino population, making them appear healthier than they are? Is it possible that fear of deportation or other ramifications are limiting researchers' access to the community, preventing accurate reporting? More importantly, would the state fund more research to determine accuracy when current data make Latinos look so healthy and inexpensive?

Welcome ASB Latino Issues 2010!

Hey everybody!

This is going to be where you all can write your weekly entries about discussions we have in class. We will also use this blog during our trip to put daily video entries up!

See you guys soon :)

Michelle