An Exploratory Study of the Characteristics of and Challenges for International Families Seeking Medical Care in the United States

Study Summary

Background: \- State-of-the art care for children with cancer or rare diseases is not available in all countries. Owing to the proximity of Latin America and the growing numbers of Latinos already in the United States, many international patients receiving specialized medical care in U.S. hospitals are from Spanish-speaking countries. Although there are benefits associated with obtaining specialized care in the United States, linguistic barriers and cultural differences as well as the general stresses of caring for a child with a serious illness may affect families ability to obtain adequate care for their children. Researchers are interested in exploring the experiences and needs of international Latino families receiving medical care for their child in the United States in order to help health care centers provide more appropriate resources and improve the overall quality of culturally sensitive care. Objectives: \- To understand the experiences of international Latino families who are receiving treatment for their child or have enrolled their child in a research study in the United States. Eligibility: * Caregivers of a child between birth and 25 years of ages who are from Latin America (which includes Mexico, all countries in Central America and South America, and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries) and who have traveled to the United States to enroll their child in a research protocol and/or seek treatment for their child s medical condition. * Caregivers must have a child enrolled on a research protocol at the time of this study. * Caregivers must have been away from their country of origin for a minimum of 3 months. Design: * This study requires a single interview that should take approximately 1 hour. * Participants will complete the interview with a member of the research team who is bilingual or fluent in Spanish. * Participants will be asked open-ended questions about why they chose to come to the United States, how they are adjusting to living a