Potential Motivators and Barriers for Encouraging Health Screening for Cardiovascular Disease Among Latino Men in Rural Communities in the Northwestern United States

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death across all races and ethnicities. In particular, Latino men suffer disproportionately from conditions that lead to CVD such as hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes. There are easy and inexpensive ways to screen for certain cardiovascular conditions, yet Latino men are not benefiting from these. It is important to identify motivators and barriers to screening among this population. The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to determine what motivates Latino men to participate in health screening for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Self-identified Latino men (n = 17) were interviewed following a community health screening targeting Latinos. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted in either Spanish or English after giving written consent. Trained interpreters were used for Spanish interviews. Emerging themes include motivating factors and barriers to participate in screening. Data findings direct future studies and provide culturally meaningful and relevant strategies to reduce health disparities.