Trends in hospital capacity and utilization in Puerto Rico by health regions, 2010-2020.

Like many under resourced, island communities, most of the municipalities in Puerto Rico are medically underserved. However, there is limited information about changes in hospital capacity and any regional disparities in availability of hospital services in Puerto Rico, especially given the multiple public health emergencies the island has faced in recent years (e.g.

United States Federal Policies Contributing to Health and Health Care Inequities in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States since 1898, has recently experienced an increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters and public health emergencies. In 2022, Hurricane Fiona became the latest storm to attract media attention and cast a light on Puerto Rico's deteriorating conditions, including infrastructural failings, health care provider shortages, and high levels of chronic illness. Although recent events have been uniquely devastating, decades of inequitable US federal policy practices have fueled the persistence of health inequities in the territory.

Prevalence of Chronic Pain by Immigration Status and Latino Ethnicity.

Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the Latino paradox and healthy migrant hypotheses by estimating the association between the prevalence of chronic pain, immigration status, and Latino ethnicity.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed pooled data from 85,395 adult participants of the 2019-2021 National Health Interview Survey. The dependent variables were any pain and chronic pain in the past 3 months.

Health Care Access and Utilization and the Latino Health Paradox.

Background: The Latino health paradox is the phenomenon whereby recent Latino immigrants have, on average, better health outcomes on some indicators than Latino immigrants who have lived in the United States longer and US-born Latinos and non-Latino Whites. This study examined whether the paradox holds after accounting for health care access and utilization.

Methods: The 2019-2020 National Health Interview Survey data were used.

Trends in Routine Checkup Within the Past Year Following a Hurricane.

The goal of this nationally representative, cross-sectional study is to evaluate the trends in routine checkup within the last year associated with exposure to a hurricane. We compared Puerto Rico (2017 Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria), Texas (2017 Hurricane Harvey), and Florida (2017 Hurricane Irma, Hurricane 2018 Michael) with states that had a category 1-2 hurricane make landfall from 2014 to 2019: Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We found that states impacted by a major hurricane in 2017 had a drop in routine checkup while the states that experienced a category 1-2 landfall did have a change in that year.

Undocumented Latino Immigrants and the Latino Health Paradox.

Introduction: Despite having worse healthcare access and other social disadvantages, immigrants have, on average, better health outcomes than U.S.-born individuals.

Growing inequities in mental health crisis services offered to indigent patients in Puerto Rico versus the US states before and after Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

Objective: To assess changes in the availability of mental health crisis services in Puerto Rico relative to US states before and after Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

Data Sources/study Setting: National Mental Health Services Surveys conducted in 2016 and 2020.

Study Design: Repeated cross-sectional design.

The impact of Medicaid funding structures on inequities in health care access for Latinos in New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

Objective: To study the impact of Medicaid funding structures before and after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on health care access for Latinos in New York (Medicaid expansion), Florida (Medicaid non-expansion), and Puerto Rico (Medicaid block grant).

Data Sources: Pooled state-level data for New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico from the 2011-2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and data from the 2011-2019 American Community Survey and Puerto Rico Community Survey.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study using probit with predicted margins to separately compare four health care access measures among Latinos in New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico (having health insurance coverage, having a personal doctor, delayed care due to cost, and having a routine checkup).

Changes in Coverage and Cost-Related Delays in Care for Latino Individuals After Elimination of the Affordable Care Act's Individual Mandate.

This cross-sectional study examines changes in levels of health care coverage and cost-related delays in care for Latino individuals after elimination of the individual coverage mandate from the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The Other US Border: Health Insurance Coverage Among Latino Immigrants In Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is a US territory and a popular destination for Latino immigrants in the Caribbean. Even with few language and cultural barriers, however, many Latino immigrants in Puerto Rico are uninsured. Using data from the 2014-19 Puerto Rico Community Survey, we examined inequities in health insurance coverage for non-Puerto Rican Latinos ages 18-64 living in Puerto Rico according to citizenship status and Latino subgroup (Dominican, Cuban, Mexican, and other Latino).