Botanicas are important in the Latino
community because they provide an alternative source of care for people
who may not be able to seek medical care in a traditional Western
setting. This can be because of many different factors. The
following are several barriers to accessing healthcare for Latinos and may
be why botanicas are widely used as an alternative.
Financial limitations
“Latinos are the most likely to be uninsured
of all racial or ethnic groups: 33 percent of all Latinos compared to 14
percent of Whites and 20 percent of African Americans” (Molina et al.
41). The costs for healthcare are a determining factor for many
Latinos when weighing the decision to visit a physician. Costs are
also a concern because series of tests usually have to be completed before
a diagnosis is made as well.
Not only is lack of insurance a problem, but
loss of pay from missing work for a doctors appointment is also a
problem. Many times, practitioners hold inconvenient office hours
and people can not get off work. The long waits encountered in
doctor’s offices are also a drawback.
A botanica solves both of these problems
because, oftentimes, the costs are low to use all the services offered in
the botanica, and they have extended hours that may include weekends
without the long waits.
Language and Cultural
Barriers
There are a small proportion of Latino
physicians available for the many Spanish speaking patients in many
communities. This makes it difficult for a Latino patient to
understand their physician and for the physician to understand the Latino
patient’s culture and beliefs. “As a result, cultural and linguistic
barriers in the medical encounter may lead to poor communication, patient
dissatisfaction, and poor compliance (to both medications and
health-promotion and/or disease-prevention interventions)” (Molina et al.
68).
If the patients are dissatisfied, they may
turn to alternative methods of healthcare. The botanica is perfect
for this, because it is a way to access a particular type of medical care
that is more culturally appropriate and comfortable for Latinos.
The fact that botanicas are found in many
neighborhoods in the United States, indicate that they are an important
option for the Latino population. For many, a botanica may be the
only source of care and, for others, it may be a complement to
“conventional health care” (Beloz and Chavez 542).
