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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Dora L. Hughes, MD, MPH1, Karen Scott Collins, MD, MPH1, and Allyson Gail Hall, PhD2. (1) The Commonwealth Fund, 1 East 75 Street, New York, NY 10021, (2) United Hospital Fund, Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10118
Methods: The Commonwealth Fund 2001 Healthcare Quality Survey, a national survey of 6722 adults with over-samples of 669 Asian American, 1037 African American and 1153 Hispanic adults, was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates, May –November 2001. Although primarily focused on quality of health care, this telephone, random digit-dial survey also examined minority access to health care, including health insurance coverage, source of care, degree of choice, prevalence of a regular doctor and length of time with regular doctor.
Findings: Compared to 11 percent of the white population, 33 percent of Hispanics, 21 percent of African Americans and 14 percent of Asian and Pacific Islanders were uninsured. Fewer minorities report a regular doctor: 70 percent of African Americans, 68 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders and only 57 percent of Hispanics compared with 80 percent of whites. Both factors- lack of health insurance and lack of a regular doctor- were associated with delaying care, not filling prescriptions, lower levels of preventive and chronic disease care as well as poorer communication with physicians and lower overall satisfaction with care. Source of care varied across groups, but those minorities without insurance or a regular doctor were significantly more likely to use an emergency room or report no regular place for care. Insurance coverage and a regular doctor improved quality of care across all groups but did not eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in quality.
Conclusion: Significant disparities in access to care are seen between white and minority populations. Reduced access to care impacts patient experience with care as well as the quality of health care received. Improving access to care through insurance coverage and availability of providers in minority communities remains a critical step in improving the health of minority populations.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to
Keywords: Access to Health Care, Minority Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.