Impact of Seismic Activity on Access to Health Care in Hispanic/Latino Cancer Patients from Puerto Rico

Cristina Peña-Vargas, Yoamy Toro-Morales, Paola Valentin, María López, Zindie Rodriguez-Castro, Ruthmarie Hernandez-Torres, Nelmit Tollinchi-Natali, Normarie Torres-Blasco, Cristina Pereira, Guillermo N. Armaiz-Pena, Heather Jim and Eida M. Castro-Figueroa
Additional contact information
Cristina Peña-Vargas: Ponce’s Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Yoamy Toro-Morales: School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Paola Valentin: School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
María López: School of Medicine, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Zindie Rodriguez-Castro: Ponce’s Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Ruthmarie Hernandez-Torres: Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
Nelmit Tollinchi-Natali: School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Normarie Torres-Blasco: Ponce’s Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Cristina Pereira: School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Guillermo N. Armaiz-Pena: Ponce’s Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico
Heather Jim: Moffitt Cancer Center, Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
Eida M. Castro-Figueroa: Ponce’s Research Institute, Ponce Health Sciences University, Ponce 00716, Puerto Rico

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-8

Abstract: On 7 January 2020, the southern region of Puerto Rico was struck by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, followed by continual seismic activity. Our team performed secondary analyses to explore the relationship between exposure to seismic activity, protection (support) received, and barriers to health care access for cancer patients. Methods: The research team collected data from the database of a longitudinal case-control cohort parent study concerning the impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rican cancer patients. The participants from the parent study were recruited in community clinics. The extracted data was collected from 51 cancer patients who completed the parent study’s interviews from January–July 2020 (seismic activity period). Barriers to health care were assessed using the Barrier to Care Questionaries (BCQ), which is composed of five subscales: skills, marginalization, knowledge and beliefs expectations, and pragmatics. Exposure to seismic activity and protection was assessed using their respective subscales from the Scale of Psychosocial Impact of Disasters. Results: The results showed a significant relationship between exposure to seismic activity and barriers to health care ( p < 0.001) and its five subscales ( p < 0.01). These results shed light on potential access to care barriers that could hinder cancer patient treatment in the event of a natural disaster.

Keywords: cancer; barriers to health care; natural disaster; psycho-oncology; health disparities; access to health care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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