Date of Presentation
5-4-2023 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
Food insecurity refers to a household or individual’s inability to access adequate food to obtain a healthy lifestyle. This contributes to health concerns such as birth defects, low nutritional intake, anemia, cognitive problems, mental health disorders, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Low-income rural community members lack access to full grocery stores and often turn to convenience stores with unhealthy, expensive, and fewer food options. The aim of this study was to determine how language barriers affect Spanish-speaking populations with limited English proficiency. The research for this project was obtained from Google, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Keywords included “health disparities,” “Spanish-speaking,” and “food insecurity.” As of 2021, seventeen percent of Latino Americans were food insecure, with Latino and Black households experiencing food insecurity at higher rates compared to White households. One in six Hispanic individuals have been affected by food insecurity, and several SNAP recipients have limited transportation options, making it difficult for food-insecure Spanish speakers to access food distribution resources available to them. It was found that Latino communities face unique challenges and are more likely to battle food insecurity than non-Hispanic White communities. It is imperative to conduct more studies and assess the impact of sustainable interventions to further understand the barriers faced by Latino communities.
Keywords
Food Insecurity, Food Supply, Socioeconomic Disparities in Health, Health Status Disparities, Hispanic or Latino, Social Medicine, Language Barriers
Disciplines
Community Health | Environmental Public Health | Health Services Administration | Inequality and Stratification | Medical Humanities | Medicine and Health | Medicine and Health Sciences
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Community Health Commons, Environmental Public Health Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Medical Humanities Commons, Medicine and Health Commons
Language Barrier Contributions to Food Insecurity in Spanish-Speaking Populations
Food insecurity refers to a household or individual’s inability to access adequate food to obtain a healthy lifestyle. This contributes to health concerns such as birth defects, low nutritional intake, anemia, cognitive problems, mental health disorders, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Low-income rural community members lack access to full grocery stores and often turn to convenience stores with unhealthy, expensive, and fewer food options. The aim of this study was to determine how language barriers affect Spanish-speaking populations with limited English proficiency. The research for this project was obtained from Google, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Keywords included “health disparities,” “Spanish-speaking,” and “food insecurity.” As of 2021, seventeen percent of Latino Americans were food insecure, with Latino and Black households experiencing food insecurity at higher rates compared to White households. One in six Hispanic individuals have been affected by food insecurity, and several SNAP recipients have limited transportation options, making it difficult for food-insecure Spanish speakers to access food distribution resources available to them. It was found that Latino communities face unique challenges and are more likely to battle food insecurity than non-Hispanic White communities. It is imperative to conduct more studies and assess the impact of sustainable interventions to further understand the barriers faced by Latino communities.