The Impact of Restrictive Policies on Mexican Immigrant Parents and Their Children's Access to Health Care

• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2021-09-01
• Series: Health Equity
• Online Access: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/HEQ.2020.0111

Background: This study assessed whether policies that limit Mexican immigrants' access to care affects their children's access to a regular source of care, health insurance, and timely preventive health visits. Method: This was a cross-sectional study among Mexican immigrant parents who attended a health promotion program in Texas, Nevada, New York, and Illinois. A sociodemographic survey, including parental and child variables, was administered. Results: Children of parents without health insurance were almost four times more likely to be uninsured and eight times more likely to lack a regular source of care. Children of parents without a regular source of care were less than half as likely to have their own regular source of care than children whose parents had a regular source of care. Discussion: Findings suggest when parents are uninsured/lack a regular source of care, a child's health disparity is created. Reducing disparities in health care coverage, affecting foreign-born parents, positively impacts their children's access to care. Clinical Trial Registration number: NCT03209713.