Hispanic/Latino Americans not only face significant systemic barriers to accessing quality health care, they’re also navigating a scarcity of trusted and culturally relevant health information. But in the face of these challenges, they’re taking control. Whether it’s proactively conducting their own research before agreeing to treatments, or seeking health information from nontraditional sources, Hispanic/Latino Americans are increasingly engaged in their health decision-making.
M Booth Health partnered with Savanta, to conduct research and build on previous reports which focused on Black and LGBTQ+ communities, to reveal the carefully curated, unexpected networks of trusted health information sources that Hispanic/Latino Americans are creating, and how they’re using them to close the health information gap. We call them Chosen Circles.
The report is written by Tayla Mahmud, who heads up Equity & Multicultural Strategy (HEMS) for M Booth Health. She believes that the rising interest in health and self-advocacy among historically marginalized communities presents a significant opportunity for health brands and organizations to improve the way they reach and engage these important, yet often overlooked, health consumers.