Latinos Need Reliable Health Information to Promote Good Health

| By Jacqueline Longe |

Gale Enciclopedia de la Medicina: Edición Abreviada en Español brings health information to Spanish speakers

Hispanics make up 17% of the United States’ population. Only a fourth of Hispanics in the United States have a regular primary care physician (PCP) and that’s primarily because Latinos are overall in better health. According to the Pew Hispanic Center (PHC) survey of Latino adults, conducted in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), 8 out of 10 Hispanic adults get their health information outside traditional medical settings, either from online sources or from social media and they act on the information that they receive. This fact doesn’t seem initially too alarming since Hispanics tend to be healthier than other groups. The CDC reports that Hispanics have 35% less heart disease and 49% less cancer than whites. The major health concerns for Latinos are obesity and diabetes. As a group, they are more likely to be overweight (23% higher) and, as a result, diabetes is more prevalent in the nation’s Hispanic population than any other group.  Since diabetes is a disease that requires careful consideration obtaining health information from a reputable source and receiving care regularly from a primary care provider would improve the overall health of the nation’s Hispanic population.

Where can Hispanics find health information?

Though the majority of Hispanics report that they don’t get sick very often, there’s a portion of Latinos that may not have a regular physician because of language difficulties. 30% of Latinos born outside the United States and 32% who primarily speak Spanish did not have a regular health-care provider as opposed to 22% of U.S.-born, primarily English-speaking Latinos.  If they aren’t regularly receiving health information from their health provider, where can Hispanics go to find comprehensive information that they can trust?

The Gale Enciclopedia de la Medicin: Edición Abreviada en Español is a great start. It offers authoritative translations of over 150 medical topics from The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, Gale’s flagship health and medical encyclopedia. The topics represent those most often searched on the Internet and of most importance to Hispanics. Entries cover not only conditions, diseases, disorders, and medications but also preventative lifestyle choices such as exercise, massage therapy, veganism, vegetarianism, and yoga. The entries are reviewed and translated into Spanish, providing reliable health information to Spanish readers. Each entry has updated resources sections that specifically meet the needs of Hispanic American readers, including Spanish-language websites. This first edition also includes over 100 color images and illustrations, a glossary of key terms, list of organizations, and a comprehensive subject index. All in Spanish.

The Gale Enciclopedia de la Medicin: Edición Abreviada en Español is available in print and eBook format through our platform GVRL. Learn more about Gale eBooks on GVRL >>

Image citation: “El ejercicio regular es importante para la salud física, mental y emocional de las personas de todas las edades, desde los niños pequeños hasta los adultos mayores.” In Gale Enciclopedia de la medicina: Edición Abreviada en Español, 2018.Air Jordan 1 Low Emerald Rise/White-Black For Sale