Pierluigi Mancini, Phd, MAC
Director, National Hispanic and Latino ATTC |
| National Hispanic and Latino ATTC |
Welcome to the New National Hispanic and Latino Addiction Technology Transfer Center, (National Hispanic and Latino ATTC) the latest member of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center network (ATTC). The National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA), the grant recipient, was established to fill a need for a unified national voice for Latino populations in the behavioral health arena and to bring attention to the great disparities that exist in areas of access, utilization, practice-based research and adequately trained personnel. (www.nlbha.org)
The Latino population in the United States combines very diverse populations. The major groups are Mexican Americans (who constitute 63.0% of Latinos), mainland Puerto Ricans (9.2%), and Cubans (3.5%). The Census Bureau's code list of subgroups other than the major groups contains over 30 Hispanic or Latino subgroups, including Brazil, South America’s largest country.
There are also individuals who were born in the United States of America who identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino.
The various Latino groups concentrate in different regions of the U.S. and they constitute a large proportion of the foreign-born population, slightly more than half (53.1%) of the total foreign-born population is composed of immigrants from Latin American and Caribbean nations.
Latino groups also differ in nativity status. About one-third (36%) of Hispanics of Mexican origin are foreign-born, as compared with more than half of Cubans and Dominicans (59% and 57%, respectively). Among Puerto Ricans living in the United States, one-third (31%) were born on the island. In addition, there is substantial heterogeneity across Latino groups in terms of immigration history and patterns.
The National Hispanic and Latino ATTC will be addressing the diverse needs that this heterogeneous community faces when it comes to seeking and finding addiction treatment, prevention and recovery services. Besides country of origin we will be addressing issues of acculturation, limited English proficiency, health literacy, or the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.
We plan to train the behavioral health workforce that will be serving Hispanic/Latino communities and developing and/or adapting the evidence-based practices and services that these professionals will be using in order to bring meaningful change to the lives of these individuals.
We will serve individuals and organizations who provide behavioral health services to Hispanic/Latino populations throughout the United States. The center will provide training and technical assistance to a wide range of public, nonprofit and private organizations in culturally and linguistically appropriate practices and programs effective in serving Latino populations including evidenced based, community defined evidence, and other best or emerging practices.
Finally, we will make sure that the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health and Health Care (CLAS Standards) are recognized. Training and hiring protocols will be implemented to support the culture and language of all subpopulations (English, Spanish or Portuguese), with a focus on the diverse Hispanic/Latino populations.
For additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact Project Director, Pierluigi Mancini PhD, MAC, at pierluigi@nlbha.org or at 678-883-6118
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REFERENCES
Acosta, YD., De la Cruz, GP. Brief ACSBR/10-15. US Dep. Commer., Econ. Stat. Adm., US Census Bur; 2011. The foreign born from Latin America and the Caribbean: 2010. http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-15.pdf
Ennis, SR., Rios-Vargas, M., Albert, NG. Brief C2010BR-04. US Census Bur; 2011. The Hispanic population 2010. http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf
Brown, A., Patten, E. Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin in the United States, 2011. Pew Res Cent, Hisp Trends. 2013 Jun 19. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2013/06/19/hispanics-of-puerto-rican-origin-in-the-united-states-2011/
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