• Arshiya A Baig, Amanda Benitez, Cara A Locklin, Amanda Campbell, Cynthia T Schaefer, Loretta J Heuer, Sang Mee Lee, Marla C Solomon, Michael T Quinn, Deborah L Burnet, and Marshall H Chin.
• J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2014 May 1; 25 (2): 527-45.

AbstractMany community health center providers and staff care for Latinos with diabetes, but their Spanish language ability and awareness of Latino culture are unknown. We surveyed 512 Midwestern health center providers and staff who managed Latino patients with diabetes. Few respondents had high Spanish language (13%) or cultural awareness scores (22%). Of respondents who self-reported 76-100% of their patients were Latino, 48% had moderate/low Spanish language and 49% had moderate/low cultural competency scores. Among these respondents, 3% lacked access to interpreters and 27% had neither received cultural competency training nor had access to training. Among all respondents, Spanish skills and Latino cultural awareness were low. Respondents who saw a significant number of Latinos had good access to interpretation services but not cultural competency training. Improved Spanish-language skills and increased access to cultural competency training and Latino cultural knowledge are needed to provide linguistically and culturally tailored care to Latino patients.

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