Abstract
In 2000, 35 million Hispanics resided in the U.S., an increase of 50% since 1990; 60% were of Mexican origin. By 2035, the Hispanic population is expected to comprise 20% of the U.S. population and 60% of the Texas population, making it the largest minority group (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Twenty-one percent of the U.S. population lives in border states. More than a third of these individuals, mostly minorities, live in medically underserved border communities characterized by poverty, pollution, and deprivation (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). Starr County, the site of our previous diabetes intervention studies, is a Texas–Mexico border community that is the poorest county in Texas and one of the poorest in the U.S. (Texas Department of Health (TDH), 2002b). Starr County is representative of many border areas: The unemployment rate is 22%, almost six times that of the rest of the state. The ratio of population per general/family practiceMDis 7,657:1, compared to 3,789:1 for the rest of the state; the registered nurse ratio is 851:1, compared to 159:1 for the state (TDH, 2002b).
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Brown, S.A. (2007). Cultural Myths and Other Fables About Promoting Health in Mexican Americans: Lessons Learned from Starr County Border Health Intervention Research. In: Angel, J.L., Whitfield, K.E. (eds) The Health of Aging Hispanics. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-47208-9_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-47208-9_16
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