Understanding the use of Public Healthcare Programs and Impact of the “public charge” in Oregon Latino/as.

Presenter Biography

Edlyn Lopez is a 3rd year student at Portland State University and a BUILD EXITO Scholar. She is majoring in Public Health Studies: Pre-Clinical Health Science and minoring in Spanish. Currently, she is a research assistant for Dr. Blair Darney at OHSU from the Department of OB/GYN, Family Planning Section. Along with the support and collaboration from colleagues, she is in the early stages of developing a study to understand the use of public healthcare programs and how the impact of the “public charge” has influenced Oregon Latino/as. Edlyn’s professional and career ambition is to become a Public Health Nurse to work in a community to provide, prevent, and educate about health issues that can improve the health of the entire community.

Institution

PSU

Program/Major

Public Health Studies: Pre-Clinical Health Science

Degree

BS

Presentation Type

Presentation

Start Date

4-7-2020 3:16 PM

End Date

4-7-2020 3:29 PM

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/33764

Keywords

"public charge", access to care, immigrants, Oregon health policy

Abstract

Authors Edlyn Lopez, Yareli Cornejo- Torres, Blair Darney PhD, MPH.

Title

Understanding the use of public healthcare programs and impact of the “public charge” in Oregon Latino/as.

Background

Oregon has programs and policies designed to expand access to healthcare for non-citizens. Recently, the Trump administration proposed changes to the “public charge” which aims to identify immigrants who use public programs. Being identified as a “public charge” may negatively impact immigration status such as denial of, visas, or citizenship. Limited available data evaluate concerns about the “public charge” nationally; we have no data to inform policies and outreach in Oregon. The objective of this study is to understand how concerns about the “public charge” may influence the Latino/a populations to disenroll in public healthcare programs.

Methods

This project combines synthesis of published and on-line data, key informant interviews, collaboration with community partners, and a survey. We are developing our survey with community partners; recruitment of N=500 Latino/as (18-59 years old) survey participants will take place at the Consulate of Mexico this spring. Our survey includes socio-demographic information, questions about knowledge of and enrollment in public programs, and scenarios to assess knowledge of which programs fall under the public charge.

Results

Our results will be disseminated with the Consulate and other partners to inform messaging and outreach about the “public charge” and eligibility for health programs. Our results will also document any “chilling effects” of the “public charge”.

Public Health Significance

Oregon has progressive policies to expand access to healthcare for undocumented immigrants. However, concerns about immigration status may hinder Oregon residents from enrolling or utilizing services. Our results will inform outreach to ensure that all eligible Oregonians are able to enroll in health programs.

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Apr 7th, 3:16 PM Apr 7th, 3:29 PM

Understanding the use of Public Healthcare Programs and Impact of the “public charge” in Oregon Latino/as.

Authors Edlyn Lopez, Yareli Cornejo- Torres, Blair Darney PhD, MPH.

Title

Understanding the use of public healthcare programs and impact of the “public charge” in Oregon Latino/as.

Background

Oregon has programs and policies designed to expand access to healthcare for non-citizens. Recently, the Trump administration proposed changes to the “public charge” which aims to identify immigrants who use public programs. Being identified as a “public charge” may negatively impact immigration status such as denial of, visas, or citizenship. Limited available data evaluate concerns about the “public charge” nationally; we have no data to inform policies and outreach in Oregon. The objective of this study is to understand how concerns about the “public charge” may influence the Latino/a populations to disenroll in public healthcare programs.

Methods

This project combines synthesis of published and on-line data, key informant interviews, collaboration with community partners, and a survey. We are developing our survey with community partners; recruitment of N=500 Latino/as (18-59 years old) survey participants will take place at the Consulate of Mexico this spring. Our survey includes socio-demographic information, questions about knowledge of and enrollment in public programs, and scenarios to assess knowledge of which programs fall under the public charge.

Results

Our results will be disseminated with the Consulate and other partners to inform messaging and outreach about the “public charge” and eligibility for health programs. Our results will also document any “chilling effects” of the “public charge”.

Public Health Significance

Oregon has progressive policies to expand access to healthcare for undocumented immigrants. However, concerns about immigration status may hinder Oregon residents from enrolling or utilizing services. Our results will inform outreach to ensure that all eligible Oregonians are able to enroll in health programs.