In all parts of the world, equality is proclaimed, a word that denotes the similarity of rights for one group of people as for another. But if we talk about one of the greatest concerns that every human being can have in his life, such as health, perhaps this term does not fit properly to its definition, but why?

Among the primary needs of the human being is to maintain an adequate state of health, without health, a person is unable to function, to serve, to live. It is for this reason that one of the key points to manage a state is the proper functioning of the health sector.

The health system of the United States is one of the most advanced in the world, the best hospitals and clinics, and well-trained professionals who are in constant learning. However, although we have the best of the best, we know that there is currently a great gap that separates the fact of needing attention in health and obtaining health care, but this gap might become a wall for people of Hispanic origin.

Being located, mostly, to the west of the United States, Hispanics represent the highest percentage of immigrants who are residing in this nation, in a survey conducted in 2016, it was estimated that, in every 5 people in the United States, 1 is Hispanic. So they are active members of a society that suffers the same problems as the natives but do not have access to the same solutions.

The inequalities that exist between Hispanics and Americans in terms of health are rooted in and have different and diverse origins: from the cultural variations faced by each of the immigrants, the status in which they are currently residing in the country, and the difficulties in the economic field that they may have, it is clear that not all of them are conditioned by these variants, but clearly these are factors that influence the majority.

Traditions and cultures influence to the point of directly affecting the nutritional status of Hispanics, as they present a higher percentage of obesity than Americans, studies would be needed to identify if this is due to the ingestion of high-fat foods and/or the lack of exercise, the truth is that obesity alone, is a huge risk factor for other diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension arteries, diseases that affect the correct regulation of energy in the body and blood , therefore it is not surprising that Hispanics suffer from these conditions in a greater percentage. In addition to this, Hispanics are more likely to be infected with the HIV virus and there are more teenage pregnancies in their population than in another subgroup of the population.

Of course, what has been said above requires greater care and medical attention. However, due to the problems in the status, the fact that not a high percentage of Hispanics does not have the possibility of having health insurance , in addition to not having the economic stability that allows it, leads to this population having serious difficulties in accessing a timely health service, due to the high costs that this represents in addition to misinformation, which puts their quality of life at risk, and all of this, without mention a very frequent problem: the language barrier.

Health providers find these challenges and difficulties to reach the Hispanic population, which, although it is partly due to the same culture, also the high costs and lack of trained personnel in the Spanish language contribute to the cause, leaving a huge void on health care.

What can be done in this case?

Most of the main causes of health problems for Hispanics are related to conditions that can be predicted, the increase of education and prevention could be a key element if you want to decrease the increase of these diseases in this population. Prevention and nutrition programs can be raised and emphasized.

The need to educate the population about how to get medical help is also important since one of the fundamental pillars of health is early detection and early diagnosis, therefore, education programs about appropriate preventive behavior could encourage the population to go more frequently to their health provider.

Technological advances that we enjoy in the first world have their costs, health has high prices, and this perhaps is one of the biggest drawbacks that makes Hispanics not going so often to their health provider.

Is it all about policies that improve the access to the greatest number of people to health services then? It is a great possibility, the fact is that Hispanics have greater difficulties in accessing health services, which should include a governmental concern due to a large number of immigrants in the United States.