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Biomedical subjects

W Vega

Publications and source records attributed to W Vega.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Help seeking by persons of Mexican origin with functional impairments.

OBJECTIVE: Mexican Americans have low rates of service utilization for mental health problems. This study examined the use of health services by persons who have symptoms of mental distress that they say impair their ability to function. METHODS: A stratified field survey was conducted in central California to select a probabilistic sample of persons of Mexican origin. A multinomial logistic regression was used for the analysis. RESULTS: Among respondents who reported functional impairments attributable to their symptoms, 58 percent met diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. Of that group, 69 percent did not use any health services. Respondents who sought medical services for mental health symptoms were more likely to be women and to meet diagnostic criteria for a mental disorder. Respondents who sought mental health services for their symptoms were more likely to be female, to be unmarried, and to have had 12 or more years of education. Health insurance status was not associated with type of service used. CONCLUSIONS: Even among Mexican Americans who met diagnostic criteria for a mental illness, most did not use services of any sort, and many of those who sought treatment for their symptoms turned to medical and informal services.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Right hilar abnormality in a young man.

A 34-year-old male patient with an abnormal chest radiograph was found to have a partial anomalous pulmonary venous return. The chest radiographs, computed tomography studies and pulmonary arteriographs are presented, as well as a discussion of the clinical features of this extremely rare entity.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

A method for estimating underutilization of mental health services by ethnic groups.

Most studies of utilization of mental health services by ethnic groups have used parity as a measure of whether members of ethnic groups are receiving a fair share of services. The level of services is assumed to be adequate if the percentage of ethnic group members in the treatment population is the same as the group's percentage in the general population. However, service planning based on achieving parity fails to consider whether some groups have higher levels of need than others. The authors describe a method for more accurately projecting service needs of minority groups based on population data and on sample surveys of needs. The results help define more equitable service goals for all population groups.

Asian↗
PubMed1986

The correspondence of health complaints and depressive symptoms among Anglos and Mexican-Americans.

This study examines the relationship between depressive symptoms and somatic complaints and/or disorders in two ethnic groups. Data reported herein are from an epidemiological field survey of a disproportionate stratified sample of Anglos (N = 637) and two Mexican-American subsamples, United States-born (N = 342) and Mexican-born (N = 201), all living in Santa Clara County, California. The covariation between depressive symptoms and a severity of somatic complaints/disorders scale derived from collapsing International Classification of Diseases categories was compared among the three ethnic subsamples with control on age, sex, education, and marital status. A significant, direct linear correlation was found between depressive symptomatology and severity of somatic complaints/disorders for each ethnic group and was found in multivariate analyses not to change significantly with the introduction of controls. Partial correlations pointed to a stronger association for Mexican-Americans than for Anglos.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1985

Psychiatric symptomatology among Mexican American farmworkers.

The paper presents findings from an epidemiologic field survey of 500 Mexican American farmworkers conducted in central California. The survey was intended as a health needs assessment of this population and the Health Opinion Survey was used to establish normative psychiatric symptom distributions. Analyses of the data by gender, age and income revealed that these socio-demographic variables were not important predictors of symptom levels, although the highest mean scores were reported in the 40-59 age group. Income levels were modest and fairly uniform, which contributed to the lack of mean score variation. Symptom distributions were analyzed for the variables age and sex using the HOS criteria of caseness and it was found that approx. 20% of the sample reached the criteria of caseness. A comparison of HOS mean scores with a national sample of surveys indicated that Mexican American farmworkers had symptom levels which resemble those of other low income socio-economic groups, such as southern blacks. Another analysis was conducted which reported a striking correspondence between self perception of health with psychiatric symptoms. A conclusion reached from the survey is that the Mexican American farmworkers in this sample appear to be experiencing psychiatric symptom levels which place them at extraordinary risk. Stresses associated with this group, i.e., limited social mobility, transience, poverty, discrimination and a high rate of traumatic life events were identified as possible contributors to this risk proneness.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1984

The prevalence of depressive symptoms among Mexican Americans and Anglos.

The study reports epidemiologic field survey data on the distribution of depressive symptoms among Anglos (n = 637) and two Mexican-American subsamples (n = 551) living in Santa Clara County, California. One of the Mexican-American subsamples was interviewed in English (n = 330) and the other in Spanish (n = 221). Analysis of variance indicated that those with low educational achievement, females, those in disrupted marital statuses, and those under 30 years of age had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms than their counterparts. The prevalence of depressive symptoms for the Anglo and Mexican-American English-speaking samples was very similar and much lower than that reported by the Spanish-speaking Mexican-American subsample. Differences in educational levels appear to be accounting for many of the variations in depressive symptoms between the Anglo and English-speaking subsamples and the Spanish-speaking one. The authors suggest that the lack of language skills along with low educational achievement may be indicating a relative lack of acculturation and societal integration which in turn may be accounting for some of the increased symptoms among the Spanish-speaking subsample. The results of multiple stepwise regression analyses indicate that age, sex, marital status, and educational attainment explain relatively low and fluctuating amounts of the total variance. These analyses also indicate that social and demographic factors are differentially related to depressive symptoms for each of the subsamples. The variables education, female, and separated were significant in all of the equations, but their order of entrance and the amount of variance explained by them varied.

Adolescent↗