Health System Experiences and Care Engagement in Latine Patients with HS

Summary Verified By: Aileen Chang, M.D. | University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine

February 1, 2026

This plain-language research summary was generated by AI, courtesy of HS Simplified.

Health System Experiences and Care Engagement in Latine Patients with HS

In this 2026 study, researchers interviewed 24 Latine adults living with hidradenitis suppurativa in California about their HS care experiences. Researchers learned that participants' wound care and pain needs often went unaddressed, leaving patients to manage these aspects of the disease themselves; perceived discrimination during visits led some to avoid care; and communication through phone or video interpreters fell short.

Latine patients with hidradenitis suppurativa are reported to have more extensive disease and to wait longer for a diagnosis than White patients. In a 2026 study, Hernandez and colleagues asked patients themselves about their experiences with the health system.

Understanding the Purpose

The researchers set out to understand which features of care might contribute to delays in diagnosis or treatment among Latine patients with HS, including what happens during appointments, what guidance patients receive, and how effective communication is when the patient and clinician do not speak the same language.

Approach and Methods

This was a qualitative study, meaning it gathered detailed accounts in patients' own words instead of numerical measurements. Between June 2024 and March 2025, Latine adults who preferred English or Spanish were recruited from dermatology clinics at two academic medical centers and two county hospitals in California. A bilingual Latine interviewer conducted semi-structured interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and translated. Researchers then coded the transcripts and carried out thematic analysis, a research method that organizes ideas and concepts to develop themes. Twenty-four participants were included, with a median age of 37.5 years; 71% were female, 46% preferred Spanish, and 79% had Hurley stage 2 or 3 disease.

Key Findings

Three themes were developed. First, wound care and pain went unaddressed for many patients: patients described receiving too little guidance on dressing wounds and managing pain, which left them devising their own approaches and carrying the burden of this themselves. Second, perceived discrimination during dermatology visits led some to avoid seeking care for HS. Third, patients experienced challenges with communication through phone or video interpreters.

Why It Matters

Managing wounds and pain should be treated as essential parts of HS care. For patients who speak languages other than English, having an in-person interpreter (rather than phone or video) may lead to better communication with their care team. People with HS need coordinated care that includes reliable access to wound care and effective strategies for pain management, and they deserve to receive health care without experiencing discrimination.

Limitations and Considerations

This study was designed to describe the range of participants' experiences, rather than measure how common each is. Everyone was recruited from dermatology clinics in California and had already received specialist care, so experiences may differ in other geographic regions and for participants who have not received specialty care. Whether any intervention improves these experiences was not evaluated in this study. Overall, Hernandez and colleagues found that unaddressed wound care and pain needs, perceived discrimination, and challenges with interpreter-mediated communication shaped how Latine patients experienced care for HS.

Read the original paper

Author(s)

Yanel Hernandez, Nathaly Gonzalez, Raveena Ghanshani, Herbert B Castillo Valladares, Erin H Amerson, Haley B Naik, Jennifer L Hsiao, Jennifer James, Sara L Ackerman, Aileen Y Chang