Psychometric Properties of a Healthcare Discrimination Scale Among Young-Adult Latinos

Objectives A growing body of research has found that healthcare discrimination is a significant barrier in accessing healthcare among Latino patients. Despite evidence of the effects of perceived discrimination among Latinos, psychometric testing of scales used in previous research is limited. The present study explored the psychometric properties of a healthcare discrimination scale (HDS) among young-adult Latinos. Methods We used data from a cross-sectional study of young-adult Latinos, primarily of Mexican heritage, living in rural Oregon. Bilingual, bicultural staff members conducted computer-assisted personal interviews matched by gender with 313 individuals who completed the interview in Spanish (n = 137) or English (n = 176). The interview guide included questions for the HDS and the experiences of discrimination (EOD) and acculturation scales, and satisfaction with healthcare services. Psychometric testing included exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency, split-half reliability, and convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Results The HDS scale had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.92), was strongly correlated with the EOD scale (r = 0.70, p < 0.001), and weakly correlated with the acculturation scale (r = 0.17, p < 0.01). Discriminant validity was stronger among English speakers (r = − 0.06, p = 0.422). Split-half reliability was 0.87 (p < 0.001). Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a one-factor solution for both Spanish and English language respondents. The HDS was significantly associated with satisfaction with healthcare services, indicative of good predictive validity. Conclusions These results suggest that the healthcare discrimination scale is a valid and reliable tool to use among Spanish and English-speaking young-adult Latinos. Further testing is needed among Latinos of other ages and background groups

Factors associated with compliance among users of solar water disinfection in rural Bolivia

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of childhood mortality, with an estimated 1.3 million deaths per year. Promotion of Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) has been suggested as a strategy for reducing the global burden of diarrhoea by improving the microbiological quality of drinking water. Despite increasing support for the large-scale dissemination of SODIS, there are few reports describing the effectiveness of its implementation. It is, therefore, important to identify and understand the mechanisms that lead to adoption and regular use of SODIS. METHODS: We investigated the behaviours associated with SODIS adoption among households assigned to receive SODIS promotion during a cluster-randomized trial in rural Bolivia. Distinct groups of SODIS-users were identified on the basis of six compliance indicators using principal components and cluster analysis. The probability of adopting SODIS as a function of campaign exposure and household characteristics was evaluated using ordinal logistic regression models. RESULTS: Standardised, community-level SODIS-implementation in a rural Bolivian setting was associated with a median SODIS use of 32% (IQR: 17-50). Households that were more likely to use SODIS were those that participated more frequently in SODIS promotional events (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.01-1.13), included women (OR = 1.18, 95%CI: 1.07-1.30), owned latrines (OR = 3.38, 95%CI: 1.07-10.70), and had severely wasted children living in the home (OR = 2.17, 95%CI: 1.34-3.49). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the observed household characteristics showed limited potential to predict compliance with a comprehensive, year-long SODIS-promotion campaign; this finding reflects the complexity of behaviour change in the context of household water treatment. However, our findings also suggest that the motivation to adopt new water treatment habits and to acquire new knowledge about drinking water treatment is associated with prior engagements in sanitary hygien and with the experience of contemporary family health concerns.Household-level factors like the ownership of a latrine, a large proportion of females and the presence of a malnourished child living in a home are easily assessable indicators that SODIS-programme managers could use to identify early adopters in SODIS promotion campaigns. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT0073149

Assessing the context of health care utilization in Ecuador: A spatial and multilevel analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are few studies that have analyzed the context of health care utilization, particularly in Latin America. This study examines the context of utilization of health services in Ecuador; focusing on the relationship between provision of services and use of both preventive and curative services.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study is cross-sectional and analyzes data from the 2004 National Demographic and Maternal & Child Health dataset. Provider variables come from the Ecuadorian System of Social Indicators (SIISE). Global Moran's I statistic is used to assess spatial autocorrelation of the provider variables. Multilevel modeling is used for the simultaneous analysis of provision of services at the province-level with use of services at the individual level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spatial analysis indicates no significant differences in the density of health care providers among Ecuadorian provinces. After adjusting for various predisposing, enabling, need factors and interaction terms, density of public practice health personnel was positively associated with use of preventive care, particularly among rural households. On the other hand, density of private practice physicians was positively associated with use of curative care, particularly among urban households.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There are significant public/private, urban/rural gaps in provision of services in Ecuador; which in turn affect people's use of services. It is necessary to strengthen the public health care delivery system (which includes addressing distribution of health workers) and national health information systems. These efforts could improve access to health care, and inform the civil society and policymakers on the advances of health care reform.</p

4to. Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad. Memoria académica

Este volumen acoge la memoria académica de la Cuarta edición del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad, CITIS 2017, desarrollado entre el 29 de noviembre y el 1 de diciembre de 2017 y organizado por la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) en su sede de Guayaquil. El Congreso ofreció un espacio para la presentación, difusión e intercambio de importantes investigaciones nacionales e internacionales ante la comunidad universitaria que se dio cita en el encuentro. El uso de herramientas tecnológicas para la gestión de los trabajos de investigación como la plataforma Open Conference Systems y la web de presentación del Congreso http://citis.blog.ups.edu.ec/, hicieron de CITIS 2017 un verdadero referente entre los congresos que se desarrollaron en el país. La preocupación de nuestra Universidad, de presentar espacios que ayuden a generar nuevos y mejores cambios en la dimensión humana y social de nuestro entorno, hace que se persiga en cada edición del evento la presentación de trabajos con calidad creciente en cuanto a su producción científica. Quienes estuvimos al frente de la organización, dejamos plasmado en estas memorias académicas el intenso y prolífico trabajo de los días de realización del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad al alcance de todos y todas

Experimentação para a determinação do fator de atrito no escoamento de um fluído em tubos retos para ensino na graduação

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Experimentação para a determinação do fator de atrito no escoamento de um fluído em tubos retos para ensino na graduação

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Medical Mistrust, Perceived Discrimination, and Satisfaction With Health Care Among Young-Adult Rural Latinos

PURPOSE: Little research has analyzed mistrust and discrimination influencing receipt of health care services among Latinos, particularly those living in rural areas. The present study examined the associations between medical mistrust, perceived discrimination, and satisfaction with health care among young-adult rural Latinos. RESEARCH DESIGN: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 387 young-adult Latinos (ages 18-25) living in rural Oregon. The Behavioral Model of Vulnerable Populations was utilized as the theoretical framework. Correlations were run to assess bivariate associations among variables included in the study. Ordered logistic regression models evaluated the associations between medical mistrust, perceived discrimination, and satisfaction with health care. RESULTS: On average, participants used health services 4 times in the past year. Almost half of the participants had health insurance (46%). The majority reported that they were moderately (32%) or very satisfied (41%) with health care services used in the previous year. In multivariable models, medical mistrust and perceived discrimination were significantly associated with satisfaction with health care. CONCLUSIONS: Medical mistrust and perceived discrimination were significant contributors to lower satisfaction with health care among young-adult Latinos living in rural Oregon. Health care reform implementation, currently under way, provides a unique opportunity for developing evaluation systems and interventions toward monitoring and reducing rural Latino health care disparities.Keywords: Satisfaction with health care, Rural Latinos, Medical mistrust, Perceived discriminatio