Difficulties encountered by health care providers serving latino families and their children with craniofacial conditions

This article describes the experiences of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) teams providing services to Spanish-speaking Latino children with craniofacial conditions and their families. A fax survey was administered to 60 U.S.-based teams listed in the ACPA 2001-2002 membership directory. The survey examined seven areas of difficulties encountered by ACPA teams. Fifty- seven teams were reached via fax, and 29 teams completed and returned the survey. Difficulties were reported in all areas examined: language and communication, compliance, financial and insurance issues, citizenship and immigration-related issues, multiple last names, lack of information on family genetics or prenatal care, and conflicts with religion or cultural beliefs. Language and communication, compliance, and financial issues continue to present considerable challenges to the delivery of services to Latino families.