Deeper Look: Hispanic/Latinx/é Communities and Hepatitis

Viral hepatitis has a disproportionate impact in Hispanic/Latinx/é communities. While overall deaths from Hepatitis C have decreased in recent years, Hispanic/Latinx/é individuals are still more likely to die from Hepatitis C compared to White individuals. Hispanic/Latinx communities face multiple barriers to viral hepatitis prevention, treatment care, and research, such as language, access to available quality care and insurance, patient education, history of incarceration or injection drug use, and high-risk behavior. 

Hispanic/Latinx/é individuals had the third highest Hepatitis C death rate among all racial/ethnic groups in 2022. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) can treat Hepatitis C infections. However, Hispanic/Latinx/é people face disparities in DAA access. In 2023, Arizona Hispanic/Latinx/é patients were less likely to be treated for Hepatitis C compared to White patients. Additionally, compared to non-Hispanic children, Hispanic children with Hepatitis C infections had 72% lower odds of receiving DAAs for Hepatitis C treatment in 2023.  

In 2023, Hispanic/Latinx/é individuals made up the largest proportion of the immigrant population with chronic Hepatitis B. Yet these communities still have lower rates of follow up testing and linkage to specialty care than other communities, specifically the Asian population. Lower awareness of Hepatitis B risk could account for these lower rates.  

Viral Hepatitis and Health Disparities among Hispanic/Latinx/éPeople 

Viral hepatitis-related health disparities are prevalent among Hispanic/Latinx/é communities. The disproportionate impacts in Hispanic/Latinx/é communities are, in part, due to social determinants of health (SDOH) that can drastically impact health outcomes.  

For example: 

• In 2022, 44% of Hispanic adults polled by Pew Research Center claimed that communication problems from language and cultural differences caused generally worse health outcomes among Hispanic communities.  
• In 2022, 48% of Hispanic adults polled by Pew Research Center said that they have less access to quality medical care where they live, leading to worse health outcomes among Hispanic/Latinx/é communities. 
• According to Pew Research Center, 68% of Hispanic adults have a primary care provider.  
• 71.8% of Hispanic individuals have a high school diploma or higher, compared to 94.6% non-Hispanic white individuals. 
• Hispanic individuals have the highest uninsured rates of any racial/ethnic group in the United States. In 2020, only 49.9% of Hispanic people had private insurance, compared to 73.9% of non-Hispanic whites. 

National Hispanic Hepatitis Awareness Day:  

National Hispanic Hepatitis Awareness Day (NHHAD) is on May 15. The awareness day was established by the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) and the Hispanic Federation in 2012, in an effort to inform Hispanic/Latinx/é communities about viral hepatitis testing, vaccination, and treatment.  

NHHAD mobilizes government and community viral hepatitis actors to call for improvements in Hispanic/Latinx/é health disparities and practices surrounding viral hepatitis. It aims to unite Hispanic/Latinx/é communities and provide viral hepatitis awareness and education – particularly around viral hepatitis screening, prevention, treatment and care.