An assessment of diabetes care for Latinos living in non-metropolitan Iowa : Iowa, United States of America

Latinos are nationally overrepresented among the uninsured, and rural Latinos are shown to face a variety of barriers to accessing quality health care. The Latino community continues to grow in the rural Midwest, and diabetes is a pertinent disease for research in this demographic. Diabetes care encompasses processes of care provided by health care professionals and personal health behavior including self-management activities, both of which may mitigate complications. The present research project investigated the degree to which the study population receives the recommended diabetes care services and executes self-management activities vis-àvis access to care. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey yielded responses from 134 participants on socio-demographic, access to care, and diabetes-related questions. The study sample was predominantly foreign-born with low income and educational attainment. Participants with a community health clinic as the source of diabetes care and those in advanced disease progression were more likely to receive the appropriate care services. This study population demonstrated higher proportions of most individual services received when compared with a national sample of Latinos but still warrants significant improvement in the delivery of the recommended preventive and monitorial diabetes care services. Improvements are also needed in all four of the selfmanagement activities investigated.