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Primary Submission Category: Place/Communities
Latino/a Early Childhood Health across Destinations
Authors: Elizabeth Ackert, Gabrielle Husted, Matthew Snidal, Robert Crosnoe,
Presenting Author: Elizabeth Ackert*
The Latino/a population in the U.S. stands out for its advantaged health outcomes amidst extensive disadvantages. However, this “Hispanic health paradox” does not extend to the critical developmental period of early childhood beyond infant birthweight and mortality, and Latino/a children face several health access barriers. This research addresses potential geographic variability in Latino/a early childhood health by focusing on Latino/a “destinations”—communities with different histories of Latino/a immigration and population growth. Our study uses restricted-use National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data from 2010 to 2018 to investigate differences in 22 early childhood health outcomes among Latino/a children ages 0-5 across three types of U.S. counties: New destinations, established destinations, and other destinations. Descriptive results show few significant differences in the 22 focal health outcomes among Latino/a children across new versus established destinations, with mixed results for preventive care differences. Compared to Latino/a children in established destinations, those in new destinations are more likely to receive flu vaccinations in the past year, but less likely to have ever seen a dentist. There are several significant differences in health outcomes among Latino/a children living in other versus established destinations, but these results are also mixed. In other destinations versus established destinations, Latino/a children are more disadvantaged for ever visiting a dentist and ever having asthma, but advantaged in health insurance coverage, visiting the doctor for a checkup in the last year, receiving a flu vaccination in the last year, and for rates of low birthweight. Our future work will adjust these results for observable background factors and examine disparities with Whites in these outcomes within and across destinations.