Language as a Barrier to Healthcare Access in Merced County: An Anthropological Exploration of Mapping for Improving Social Service Provision

Marisa Deline

C1: Health 2, Poster Presentation, GRID 2009

13:30 PM-15:00 PM, Benjamin Banneker A

In its provision of social services to county families with children under the age of five, First Five Merced engages with a relatively dispersed, diverse, and poor population. The question for program planners is how to provide services to help at-risk families improve their lives. GIS mapping software presents anthropologists with new ways not only of depicting but also of creating, analyzing and presenting their data. Using existing literature on risk factors and maps of First Five Merced programs created with ArcView GIS, this poster will explore how anthropologists can use maps to make their research useful to stakeholders and policymakers. The specific risk factor addressed is that of limited English proficiency. Despite the Office of Minority Healths Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services standards and qualitative and quantitative data demonstrating that limited English proficiency is associated with worse access to healthcare, providers such as those funded by First Five Merced still struggle to provide appropriate services to non-English speakers.