Study points to areas of need for Kansas City women

A study released this month by the Greater Kansas City Women’s Foundation highlighted a need for education on healthcare and financial issues for the KC-area women, and specifically, for Hispanic women.

Dr. Graciela Couchonnal, principal investigator on the two-year-long study, said the findings would give the foundation a tool to guide future efforts and fundraising opportunities.

The 2008 study builds on a previous study looking at the same areas 15 years ago.

“Our community has changed quite a bit over the last 15 years,” Couchonnal said. “Fifteen years later, we decided to replicate and expand the original study.”

The study, funded in part by the Beth K. Smith Fund for Research and Results, had more than 30 volunteers conducting interviews of community organizers, other individuals, focus groups and an analysis of 664-consumer survey.

Among the findings:

• Researches found that, across the board, the largest areas in need were healthcare, employment/financial issues, and the need for more service to Latina women and girls as priority areas.

“Latinas are less likely to seek services or go to the doctor for preventative services,” Couchonnal said. “We need to them know why that is important.”

• On healthcare issues, respondents identified major needs as the ability to access service, difficulties navigating the healthcare service delivery system, dental care, the need for preventative services, aging and the challenges faced by undocumented women and girl immigrants.

• The study identified a “great need” for more comprehensive career and financial education. Study participants reported a lack of financial literacy in both career development and financial management.

• Challenges associated with immigrant populations.

“The issues that address the needs of Latinos came out very strongly in Wyandotte County (in the study),” Couchonal said.

In the consumer survey, 26 percent of the 664 respondents were from Wyandotte County, the second highest percentage behind Jackson County, Mo.

Participating community service organizations in Wyandotte County included CASA of Johnson and Wyandotte Counties, El Centro, Donnelly College, Kansas City, Kan. Parents as Teachers, the Keeler Women’s Center, Project Eagle and the YWCA of Greater Kansas City.

Complete findings of the survey are scheduled for release early next year by the women’s foundation.

The foundation bills itself as the metro area’s voice for women and girls, claims to have assisted the lives of more than 20,000 women and girls through grants exceeding $1.5 million. For more information on the foundation and its partners and programs, visit www.wfgkc.org.