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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Holly C. Felix, PhD¹, M. Kate Stewart, MD, MPH¹, Zoran Bursac, PhD¹, and Janet Bronstein, PhD². (1) College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Slot 820, Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-526-6626, felixholly@uams.edu, (2) Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama Birmingham School of Public Health, RPH B330, 1530 3rd Ave, Birmingham, AL 35294

The ability to successfully refer family planning clients for necessary primary and specialty health care services, including early cancer and HIV/STI treatment is an important aspect of three dimensions of family planning service quality: effectiveness, timeliness and equity. Organizational and financial challenges to successful referrals include the isolation of family planning providers from other forms of health care and Medicaid plans that cover family planning but not other types of services for patients. In addition there are many psychological, social and financial challenges that clients face in completing referrals for other services. In this presentation we will discuss preliminary findings from our survey on the referral practices of Title X and non-Title X providers in Alabama and Arkansas and from our study of the safety net resources available to them for referrals. We will also discuss the planned second phase of the project, a companion survey of family planning clients, exploring factors associated with seeking and receiving care for general health problems, including the extent of referral facilitation available from the family planning provider.

Learning Objectives: