Health Issues in Latino Families and Households

The Latino population in the United States continues to increase, diversify, and disperse geographically in dramatic fashion. Latinos are now the largest race/ethnic minority group in the United States, a fact not fully recognized by scholars, public officials, health practitioners, or people in the United States (Grieco & Cassidy, 2001). They are projected to constitute nearly one fourth of the total population by 2050 (24.4%), contrasting with population shares of non-Latino blacks (14.6%) and whites (50.1%) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003, Table 15). Not only is the Latino population growth reshaping the ethnic composition of the national population but also the ethnic composition of the Latino population is changing. Recent migration streams from Caribbean basin nations have swelled, reducing the proportion of the Latino subpopulation that is of Mexican origin. The geographic distribution of Latinos has expanded substantially, ranging from the traditional regions and cities, such as the southwestern states, New York City, and Miami to new gateway cities and their suburban rings, such as Washington, D.C., Orlando, and Atlanta, and more rural destinations in the southeastern United States (Singer, 2004). It is clear that an understanding and incorporation of the Latino population into U.S. health and family research is crucial for evaluating health and well-being among U.S. families and households. During the past decade, the national public health agenda has established the importance of research on race and ethnic disparities in health. The number of demographic studies of Latinos’ health has soared recently, with most researchers established in subspecialty fields of mortality, fertility,