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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jewel S. Goodman, MPA, PhD(c), College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, Technology Building, Norfolk, VA 23502, Stacey Plichta, ScD, School of Community Health Professions, Old Dominion University, College of Health Sciences, Norfolk, VA 23529, Qi (Harry) Zhang, PhD, School of Community and Environmental Health, Old Dominion University, 104E William B Spong Hall, Norfolk, VA 23529, Barbara Morrison-Rodriguez, PhD, BMR Consulting, LLC, 16703 Blenheim Drive, Lutz, FL 33549-6815, and Koren Goodman, MSEd, Career Management Center, Old Dominion University, Room 133 Oceanography/Physics Building, Norfolk, VA 23529, (757) 683-3282, KGoodman@odu.edu.

Background: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic diseases pose a significant burden in mortality, morbidity, and cost. Currently one of the most prevalent and costly health problems in the US, these conditions impact the lives of approximately 25 million people, account for 70% of the $1 trillion that finances health care annually, and require on-going medical management and prescriptions.

Purpose: The proposed study's purpose is to examine the usefulness of the Andersen and Aday model of health service utilization in predicting self-reported healthcare utilization and change in clinical outcomes. This study will model the effect of an enabling factor, a stop-gap medication program that provides immediate access to prescription medication for eligible uninsured patients, on healthcare utilization. A secondary aim of this study is to describe the alternate ways in which those without stop-gap medication access meet their prescription medication needs.

Proposed Methods: Uninsured new patients seeking care at a community health center with a physician-diagnosis of one of five chronic disease states of asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or heart disease and require a prescription to control the condition will complete health-assessment surveys at baseline and again three months after the intervention. Medical records will be reviewed for laboratory results and physician recommendations. It is hypothesized that those patients in the treatment group with access to the stop-gap program will show improved health status as measured by improved clinical outcomes and have fewer healthcare utilization encounters as a result of immediate prescription access.

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to

• Recognize the need for improved access to prescription medication for the uninsured who are managing chronic conditions;
• Develop collaborations with local and statewide health systems that promote improved prescription access for the uninsured managing chronic conditions; and
• Assess the impact of improved prescription medication access on decreasing the number health service visits for the uninsured managing chronic conditions.

Keywords: Community-Based Health Promotion, Community Health Centers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered