Report details health of Orange’s Hispanic residents
For the first time, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County has issued an assessment of the Hispanic population, showing several areas of need and highlighting health disparities in the community.
“This assessment is timely given the rapid growth of our Hispanic community from Venezuela and now from Puerto Rico in recent years and months,” Dr. Kevin Sherin, director of the Orange County Health Department, said in a news release. “The results indicate food security, affordable housing and jobs are all important social determinants of health in the Hispanic community.”
It establishes a baseline for the health status of the Hispanic community in Orange County, the authors wrote.
In Orange County, Hispanics make up about 30 percent of the population and grew 40 percent from 2010 to 2016, compared with 9 percent population growth among non-Hispanics. “Data shows that the Hispanic population will continue to grow, which will result in a gradual decline of the non-Hispanic population as the years progress,” authors wrote.
The 74-page report, which used local and national data along with interviews and surveys, shows the Hispanic population in Orange County is disproportionately affected by issues such as access to healthy food and health care, unemployment and maternal death. There was also a significant increase in the number of homeless Hispanics between 2016 and 2017, and HIV infection rates increased 23 percent between 2012 and 2016.
The report included some good news: Hispanics had lower rates of cancer, smoking during pregnancy and low-birth-weight babies, compared to non-Hispanics in Orange County. But the findings — such as a higher rate of emergency-room visits — highlight the need to reduce health disparities, the authors concluded.
The report adopted the U.S. Census Bureau’s definition of “Hispanic or Latino,” which is a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South/Central American or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Orange County has the third-largest population of Hispanics in Florida, behind Miami-Dade and Osceola counties.