Assessment of health service needs for the Hispanic/Latino community in North Carolina

              METHODS
A telephone survey was conducted in March and April of 1993 for this needs assessment, and the
information for the Resource Directory (Lopez, 1993a) was obtained from March through May of
1993. Those surveyed were local health departments, community and migrant health centers, and
community-based organizations. This section includes the development of the questionnaire, sampling
procedures, and data analyses.
Instrument
A survey instrument was developed from information in the published literature. It included items
that assessed methods used to reach Hispanics/Latinos and the general population, availability of data
on ethnicity, perceived health service needs for Hispanics/Latinos, and recommended strategies to
overcome those needs.
For the methods used to reach Hispanics/Latinos, a four-point scale was used for recording
responses according to the frequency of use-almost always, frequently, occasionally or in some areas,
and hardly ever or never. For the linguistic and cultural methods, this included translated or
interpreted care, bilingual staff, Spanish language materials and classes, and culturally-based care and
materials. The next section focused on location of services, transportation, and partners in care (public
and community organizations and churches).
These data were coded as available for the general population, targeted to Hispanics/Latinos, or
available for both groups. Evening and weekend hours were coded according to frequency per week
or per month, as shown in the later figures. Other items were included on the instrument and used as
a checklist for recording responses about activities targeted to Hispanics. These were child care, social
services, home visiting, primary care referrals, and outreach, which included newspapers, posters,
radio/television, flyers, and health fairs.
For the perceived needs and recommendations, the focus was on whether the respondents' thought
these issues were still needs or not, regardless of their responses in the section on methods used. The
four-point scale included need more help, doing alright with existing system/resources, not a need
here, and have not really considered it. It included the linguistic and cultural issues mentioned above,
along with the access issues. It also addressed the usefulness of technology in working with
Hispanics/Latinos. This included computers or telephones for translation or intake information, as well
as videos for educating. Other issues used as a checklist for needs were home visiting, child care,
media, outreach, and partners in care.
Another important area assessed was the involvement of community members in health program
planning. This information was solicited from open-ended questions that asked if there was an
advisory or consumer board (other than the Board of Health for health departments), how the
organization included consumers in program planning, and what the respondent recommended for
doing this.