Predictors of Mexican colonia residentsa€? health perceptions and spirituality level: A pilot study

摘要

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine and identify factors predictive of health perceptions and spirituality levels of Mexican residents living in a border colonia. Sixty residents completed a survey. The instrument consisted of demographics items, a spiritual well-being scale containing two subscales, and a general health rating index (GHRI) containing five subscales used to measure health perceptions. Current health was rated better by those who reported having a physician. Health outlook was positively correlated to church attendance and to the number of individuals living in the home. Health worry/concern was positively correlated with age and inversely correlated with income. Correlations between general health perceptions and spiritual well-being yielded three significant relationships: current health, resistance to illness, and health outlook. Higher sense of spiritual well-being positively correlated (r = 0.61, p 0.01) to participantsa€? overall general health perception. Predictors of spiritual well-being were church attendance, number of people living in the home, and three GHRI subscales: current health, resistance to illness, and health worry/concern (accounted for 45.2% of the variance). Predictors of self-rated health perceptions were marital status, existential well-being, and religious well-being (accounted for 39.4% of the variance). These findings suggest an interconnectedness between health perceptions and spiritual well-being. Even though the physical environment of a colonia is unhealthy and impoverished, holding a high sense of spiritual well-being could aid in enhancing personal health perceptions. The results of this study provides a justification to plan and implement a larger randomized study involving several colonias.