Health Status and Access to Health Care of Documented and Undocumented Immigrant Latino Women

Health Status and Access to Health Care of Documented and Undocumented Immigrant Latino Women

This table, titled Perceived Health Status, Access to Care, and Diseases and Conditions, presents data on health disparities between documented and undocumented women in Fort Worth, Texas. The data shown in this table is part of a broader study on immigrant health conducted in 2002 by the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. The data’s intended audience is other academics who can then distribute the results to the general public. The researchers recruited 194 women (documented and undocumented) from various locations, including churches, laundromats, flea markets, and health departments. The study focused on Spanish-speaking immigrants and gathered responses through face-to-face interviews using structured surveys adapted from national health studies. Texas has long been a major hub for immigration, and despite Texas’s economic power, in 2005, it had one of the highest percentages of uninsured residents in the country. The survey was used to glean the data to make this graph geared to assess participants’ migration status, health conditions, and access to healthcare services. This sheds light on the barriers faced by undocumented women in accessing medical care.

The primary source table has compelling empirical evidence that undocumented migrant women in Fort Worth face significant healthcare access barriers. The data reveal that these women have a lower perceived health status, far less insurance coverage (only 10 of the interviewed undocumented women had insurance in some form), and limited access to primary care (56.6% vs 32.9%). This indicates that immigration status directly impacts health outcomes, which will set the stage to investigate underlying social, political, and economic causes for this gap. Texas’s high uninsured rates emphasize the systemic factors that limit access to essential healthcare services for undocumented populations. Drawing a historical parallel with the Jim Crow era, when African American communities were systematically denied quality healthcare, the data in the table highlights that exclusionary practices have deep roots and lasting impacts. I will further investigate this topic through my secondary sources. This primary source can be useful for advocates, politicians, and physicians who are looking for ways to identify inequities in healthcare and work towards solutions. Future questions could explore how these disparities evolve over time and how state and federal policies influence healthcare outcomes for undocumented immigrants across the U.S. South.

Marshall, Khiya J, Ximena Urrutia-Rojas, Francisco Soto Mas, and Claudia Coggin. 2005. “Health Status and Access to Health Care of Documented and Undocumented Immigrant Latino Women.” Health Care for Women International 26 (10): 916–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399330500301846.