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Hispanics are severely underrepresented in medicine and the health professions, particularly Hispanic women compared to other women. Hispanics represent only 4.9% of medical and health professionals, with a disproportionate representation in allied health professions, and Hispanic women represent less than 2% of those in health professions that require advanced degrees. The purposes of this paper are to review the available data on Hispanic women in medicine and the health professions, to examine the factors that contribute to their underrepresentation, and to present and discuss recommendations to decrease the barriers to Hispanic women in the health professions. Factors associated with this underrepresentation include high levels of family poverty linked to high secondary school dropout rates, inadequate educational background and work experiences, and lack of information on resources and opportunities. Central recommendations to increase representation of Hispanic women call for institutional changes and commitments in data collection, early math and science preparation, access to financial resources, and improvements in community linkages and the academic environment. |
