 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Richard L. Lichtenstein, PhD, Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, 109 S. Observatory, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, Angela Odoms-Young, PhD, Human and Community Development, University of Illinios -Urbana/Champaign, 9310 S. Prairie, Chicago, IL 60619, 773-928-0206, lichto@umich.edu, Beverly Lemle, NSO-Harper/Gratiot Multi-Service Center, 9641 S. Harper, Detroit, MI 48213, and Kelly Baber, Kettering/Butzel Health Initiative, 7737 Kercheval, Detroit, MI 48214.
Despite reported declines in the percentage of uninsured low-income children and adults, many Americans continue to lack adequate health coverage (CDC, 2002). Although most states have initiated efforts to expand access to health insurance for low-income children through Medicaid and CHIP, barriers to enrollment in public health insurance programs continue to exist. Non-Hispanic Blacks are at greater risk for being uninsured as compared to non-Hispanic whites. The Eastside Access Partnership (EAP) is a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project focused on increasing the number of eligible children on the eastside of Detroit who are enrolled in available health programs. To gain a greater understanding of the health access barriers faced by children residing on Detroit’s eastside, four focus groups where conducted with caregivers (n=36) to explore their perceptions of health coverage and recommendations to encourage program enrollment. Three additional focus groups regarding similar issues were conducted with Family Independence Agency (FIA) caseworkers (n=18) and community outreach workers (n=9). Group participants cited several reasons for the lack of health coverage among eastside residents including lack of affordable employer coverage, difficulty dealing with FIA caseworkers/policies, awareness of programs, understanding program eligibility, and work requirements. Public Aid caseworkers also raised several barriers regarding their ability to deliver quality services including adequate training in program policies and procedures, effective and open communication with supervisors and clients, and client characteristics and perceptions. Focus group results will be used to inform an EAP intervention project to improve the delivery and awareness of services offered by FIA.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Access to Health Care, African American
Related Web page: www.sph.umich.edu/urc/projects/eap.html
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.