» Health Planning Epidemiology, Disease Monitoring Decision Making Assessment Public Health Disparities » Health Services Immunizations Medicaid Public Health Nursing Breastfeeding Day Care Education Communicable Diseases Immunizations Health Promotion Obesity Epidemic Stress and Chronic Disease Super-size Wise Breast Cancer Prevention Fact Sheets School Wellness Environmental Health Asthma Food Safety Household Safety Indoor Air Quality Lead Poisoning Prevention Rabies Waste and Recycling West Nile Virus » Health Protection Emergency Preparedness Communicable Disease Ordinance/Code Enforcement » From the Office Board of Health Staff Promote, Protect, Prevent Calendar of Events

Public Health Solutions
District Health Department
995 East Hwy 33, Ste 1
Crete, NE 68333-2562
888.310.0565

Webmail »

Saline County Behavioral Risk Factor Survey

Draft Narrative

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Hispanic adults comprised 12 percent of the 2007 Saline County BRFSS sample, thus providing enough respondents to analyze data for many, but not all, of the questions in this study. Some important differences were noted between the Hispanic and the non-Hispanic respondents in this survey.

Hispanic adults were more likely than non-Hispanic white adults in Saline County to report poor access to care in 2007.

• Nearly one-half of Hispanic respondents aged 18 to 64 years (46.1%) had no health insurance at the time of the survey, compared to only 11.8% of non-Hispanic whites in this age group.
• One-half of Hispanic adults surveyed (49.1%) stated they did not have a personal doctor or health care provider, while only 13.7% of non-Hispanic white adults were without a personal physician.
• Nearly one-fourth of Hispanic adults (23.3%) said that, at some time in the past year, they needed to see a doctor but could not due to the potential cost of care. Among non-Hispanic white adults, the proportion that could not afford to see a physician was much smaller (5.6%).

Hispanic adults were generally less likely than non-Hispanic white adults in this county to indicate they ever had been screened for some diseases or risk factors.

• In the area of cardiovascular disease risk factor screening, Hispanic adults (21.8%) were much less likely than non-Hispanic white adults (74.5%) to state they ever had their blood cholesterol checked.
• Hispanic respondents (10.5%) were less likely than non-Hispanic whites (29.3%) to say they had ever been told they have high blood pressure. However, respondents in this survey were not asked whether or not they had ever had their blood pressure checked. It is possible that the lower prevalence of diagnosed hypertension among Hispanic adults could be due to lack of screening for this condition. Data are insufficient to determine if this is the case.
• Hispanic women (68.4%) were somewhat less likely than non-Hispanic white women (89.8%) to ever have had a Pap test to screen for cervical cancer.
• Too few Hispanic adults in the older age categories (aged 40 and older) were interviewed to allow calculation of some screening prevalence rates for Hispanic respondents (mammograms, prostate cancer screening, colorectal cancer screening), so Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic rate comparisons are not available for Saline County.

A greater proportion of Hispanic adults (43.2%) reported that they did not participate in any physical activities or exercise other than their regular job in the past month. Among non-Hispanic white adults in Saline County, only 21.4% indicated they had not engaged in any leisure-time physical activity.

Some differences were also noted in responses to “reactions to race” questions.

• One-fourth of Hispanic adults (25.6%) said they think about their race constantly and 20.8% think about it every day. Among non-Hispanic white adults, only 5.7% said they think about their race daily or constantly.
• The majority of respondents in both groups (88.3% of non-Hispanic whites and 77.2% of Hispanics) felt they were treated the same as people of other races in the workplace. However, 18.2% of Hispanic adults in Saline County did report being treated worse than people of other races in their place of employment.
• The majority of people surveyed (84.5% of Hispanic and 83.0% of non-Hispanic white respondents) rated their experiences the same as people of other races when seeking health care.
• Nearly all Saline County respondents (99.6% of non-Hispanic white and 95.5% of Hispanic adults) stated they had not had any physical symptoms in the past month due to treatment of them based on race. However, 11.9% of Hispanic adults said they had felt “emotionally upset” in the past 30 days because of the way they were treated based on their race.

Hispanic households in Saline County may be somewhat less prepared than non-Hispanic white households for a large-scale disaster.

• A greater proportion of Hispanic respondents (30.3%) rated their households as “not prepared at all” for a disaster, compared to non-Hispanic white respondents (12.7%).
• Hispanic adults (43.5%) were less likely than non-Hispanic white adults (82.7%) to say they have a three-day supply of prescription medications on hand. However, nearly one-fourth of Hispanic respondents (22.4%) said no one in their household currently requires prescription drugs.
• Hispanic respondents (45.4%) were also less likely than non-Hispanic whites (79.2%) to rely on cell phones in the event of an emergency. Instead, they were more likely to mention using their home telephone (50.9%) to communicate with family and friends.