Acculturation inequality in health and access to healthcare among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in the United States/Mexico international border region.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Mexico is the only developing country in the world bordering the United States. This unique situation has created a complex socio-economic and geo-political cluster influencing the public health characteristics of both countries. While communities on both sides of the border share natural and human resources, the well-being of its residents, the access to healthcare and the socio-economic inequalities are noticeably disproportioned, compared to the rest of their respective nations. Healthcare disparities among certain sectors of the population in the United States are well documented. However, little is known regarding the link between health disparities and acculturative factors as either pathways or barriers to well-being and healthcare access among Hispanic residents on the United States/Mexico border region.
Acculturation is commonly defined as the process of acquiring and/or adopting the beliefs, values and cultural traits of a dominant culture. The extent of disparity between high and low levels of acculturation is referred as acculturation inequality. Inequality in acculturation lay in the fact that the measurement of the lowest and highest acculturated individuals is unequal, both by health status and access to healthcare. Individuals with high levels of acculturation have unequally higher levels of health status and access to healthcare than those individuals at the lowest rank of acculturation.
General Study Objectives: (1) To document the existence and the magnitude of acculturation inequality in adults residing in the United States/Mexico border region. (2) To better understand the effect of acculturation inequality on well-being status denoted by diabetes and access to healthcare as represented by having health insurance coverage in adults living in the United States/Mexico Border Region.
Specific Study Objectives: (1) To measure the acculturation inequality in well-being in adults 40 years and older and their diabetes status on individuals residing in the United States/Mexico border region. (2) To study associations between access to healthcare services of adults 40 years and older living in the United States/Border region.