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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Elizabeth A. Jacobs, MD, MPP, Collaborative Research Unit, Cook County Hospital and Rush University, 1900 W Polk St, 16th Floor, Chicago, IL 60612, 312-633-6781, ejacobs@rush.edu, Carol Ferrans, PhD RN FAAN, School of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 South Damen Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612, Italia Rolle, MS RD, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1603 West Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60612, and Richard Warnecke, PhD, Health Research & Policy Centers, University of Illinois at Chicago, 850 West Jackson Boulevard, Suite 521, Chicago, IL 60607.
BACKGROUND: An abundance of research has documented disparities in health and health care between African Americans and Caucasians, yet the reasons behind these disparities are still not clearly understood. One of the possibilities is that African Americans are less trusting of physicians and health care institutions and less likely to seek or accept care. METHODS: Six focus groups of African American women (42-73 yrs; n=49) were conducted. Women were recruited from a county clinic and a non-profit community organization. An African American woman moderator facilitated all groups. Discussions were audio taped, transcribed and coded for interpretation using grounded theory. RESULTS: The following themes were identified: (1) Trust is determined by the interpersonal competence of physicians and the technical competence of health care institutions. (2) The race of the physician rarely plays a role in determining trust. (3) Physicians and for profit health care institutions are generally distrusted among the African American community. (4) The insurance and socioeconomic status of African Americans is a more important determinant of the quality of care they receive than their race. (5) Routine care is often experimental care. (6) Distrust and fear of experimentation influences African American men's decisions about health care more often than women's decisions. (7) African American women seek care but are often denied it because they lack of insurance or other monetary resources. CONCLUSION: African American women view health care as untrustworthy because it has often failed to provide them with interpersonally competent care without regard to their ability to pay.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: African American, Barriers to Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Cook County Hospital
Westside Health Authority
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.