Purpose of study: The purpose of the study was to conduct a telephone survey among primary medical health care providers in Southern Chester County, PA to determine what additional resources are needed to provide quality, primary health care for Latinos. Specifically, the aim of the study was to document the growing need for bi-lingual health providers and or medical interpretive services for the fastest growing minority group in Chester County--Latinos. According to the 2000 Census, the Latino population grew 88 % from 1990 data. Many are mono-lingual Spanish spaeking only migrant mushroom workers. Accessing primary health care services for this group poses special challenges-primarily linguistic. Project Salud, the leading Latino migrant primary health care provider in this area commissioned the study to determine the number and availability of primary health care providers serving Spanish speaking patients. Methods: Seventy health care providers were surveyed by telephone to determine bi-lingual capabilities of medical personnel, percentage of Latino patients, and other access barriers to health care for Latinos. Results: Seventy providers completed the telephone survey, which took five minutes to complete. Only ten percent had bi-lingual capabilities of their respective medical staff. There is a tremendous need for additional bi-lingual medical and health care staff for Spanish speaking patients in Chester County. Implications for practice are discussed.
Learner Objectives: 1.) Poster viewers will appreciate the growing need for bi-lingual health care providers and educators to serve the growing Hispanic populations in the United States. 2.) Poster viewers will be able to state the major steps in implementing a survey to document the need for expanded bi-lingual services for Latinos.