Definition of Hispanic

The racial and ethnic categories suggested by OMB Directive 15 are:

• American Indian or Alaskan Native

  A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

• Asian or Pacific Islander

  A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Isl ands, and Samoa.

• Black

  A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

• Hispanic

  A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish Culture.

• White

  A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Too often, the term "Hispanic" is used simplistically, referring broadly to all populations with ancestral ties to Spain, Latin America, or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. Such uncritical ethnic labeling can and may obscure the diversity of so cial histories and cultural identities that characterize these populations and, in turn, can influence health behaviors, the way care is accessed, and ultimately, health outcomes. Alternatively, subcategories based primarily on national origin, such as Me xican American, Puerto Rican, Central and South American, and Cuban, have been increasingly utilized to provide a more refined level of categorization. In this manner, one can distinguish, for example, between the access to care issues likely to be faced by Puerto Rican communities covered by US entitlement programs and those encountered by Central and South Americans, some of whom may be fleeing a war-torn countryside, and who, because of these circumstances, might be undocumented.

Although useful, classification by geopolitical designations of national origin or ancestry can also prove problematic, as it does not recognize the power of acculturation (filename.html) to influence health. Fifth-generation Mexican Americans are groupe d with those who may have recently arrived. Indeed as several reports in this issue suggest, differences in health behaviors and health status exist between US-born and foreign-born members of the same ancestral group; in general, recent arrivals tend t o be in better health.

...This set of issues has stimulated a search for a coherent conceptual and pragmatic basis for identifying Hispanic populations and has led to the suggested use of the term "Latino" or "Raza," among others. For, although significant distinctions exist among the various Hispanic communities, there are also the important ties that transcend their differences. Similarities in language, a colonial past, and, of course, the struggle against discrimination have brought the diverse Hispani c communities into a variety of activist coalitions and shared agendas. Although this public discussion continues, the challenge lies in developing classification schemes that recognize distinctions in community practices but also respect the need for the se diverse communities to respond to broad problems with a collective voice. Health workers and researchers must recognize the complexity of this issue and must therefore respond with informed decisions regarding the operational implementation of "H ispanic" terminology and their agendas.

You will need to read the summary of the workshop "Use of Race and Ethnicity in Public Health Surveillance" in order to answer the questions for this module.

Further references for the definition

Hispanic Health Home Page