The Latino Community Fund Georgia, a nonprofit advocating for health equity for Latinos living in that state, has issued a year-end report titled “The 2023 Health Status of Latinos in Georgia Report.”

Researchers for the 187-page report conducted surveys, key informant interviews and focus groups with Latinos in Georgia communities as part of their information-gathering methods, an Albany CEO article reports.

More than one million Latinos live in Georgia. Many face barriers to care, including low income, cultural stigma and limited culturally competent care. For example, when a translator is needed but not available, the risk of patient harm and negative health outcomes increases significantly, according to the report.

What’s more, about 29% of Latinos in Georgia have no health insurance. This is in keeping with the finding by the Pew Research Center that Latino adults are less likely than other Americans to have health insurance and to receive preventive care.

When looking at different health conditions, researchers found that the rates of diabetes and hypertension among Latinos in Georgia exceed the state average. Medical conditions such as these can go undetected for years while quietly causing damage that can increase the risk for heart disease and stroke.

“With cancer [and] also with mental health, we think that it does not exist or that it is very far from our lives, and we do not take the precautions to do exams until it is very advanced,” one respondent surveyed said, according to the report.

Even those with access to quality health care may not schedule wellness appointments. In fact, Latino adults, particularly men, were less likely than all adults in the United States to report seeing a health care professional in the previous year, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey.

The report did find strong community networks within the Latino community in Georgia. These offer valuable opportunities for health care professionals and community workers to reach and educate Latinos in the state.

To read the entire report, click here.