New England Journal of Public Policy

Article Title

Puerto Ricans' Access to Health Care

Authors

Ralph Rivera, University of Massachusetts Boston

Abstract

The shift toward cost containment in health policy over the past decade has had negative consequences for the most vulnerable populations in the country, namely, ethnic minorities, the poor, and the uninsured. The Puerto Rican population is significantly affected by this shift, yet little is known of their health care usage. This study investigates the extent to which Puerto Ricans' health care use is determined by the relationship between predisposing variables, enabling variables, need, and other contextual variables and probes the implications of the findings for health policy. The adult Puerto Rican subsample (n = 1598) of the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics between 1982 and 1984 is analyzed. The regression results show that gender, language, health insurance, regular source of care, and health status are significant predictors of the dependent variable, Puerto Ricans' last visit to a health care provider.

Recommended Citation

Rivera, Ralph (1996) "Puerto Ricans' Access to Health Care," New England Journal of Public Policy: Vol. 11: Iss. 2, Article 10.
Available at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/nejpp/vol11/iss2/10