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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Fernando Wagner, ScD, Prevention Sciences Research Center and the cCenter for Health Disparities Solutions, Morgan State University School of Public Health and Policy, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Jenkin 343, Baltimore, MD 21251, Patricia Clubb, PhD, Prevention Sciences Research Center and the Center for Health Dispaarities Solutions, Morgan State University, School of Public Health and Policy, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Jenkin 343, Baltimore, MD 21251, 443.885.3238, DrDotBrowne@aol.com, and Dorothy Browne, MSW, MPH, DrPH, Preventive Sciences Research Center and Center for Health Disparities, Morgan State University School of Public Health and Policy, 1700 East Coldspring Lane, Jenkin 343, Baltimore, MD 21251.

Previous research indicates that medical mistrust has implications for under-utilization of medical services and participation in clinical trials, among others. However, both medical mistrust and health care utilization can be confounded by socioeconomic and social environmental factors, such as geographic distance to health care organizations. The goal of this presentation is to address the following questions: (1) “To what extent is health care underutilized?” and (2) “What implications does medical mistrust, as well as other factors (ethnicity, health status, depressive symptoms, and substance use) have for health care utilization?” To investigate these issues, data from the Community Health Urban Project (CHUP) will be used. The Community Health is a multiethnic sample of 1,489 adults (55% male) living in two adjacent census tracts located in a mid-Atlantic city. The sample is predominantly composed of African Americans and Whites who share a similar environment and socioeconomic characteristics. Health service utilization was measured by asking the number of visits to a doctor or medical clinic for any reason in the past two years. To assess medical mistrust, respondents indicated the extent to which they agreed with 17 statements regarding medical mistrust using a 4-point scale. The implications of these findings for the efforts of public health professionals to reach underserved populations will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the partcipants(learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the problem of health care under-utilization;
• Recognize factors that are related to health care under-utilization; and
• Discuss the implications of these factors for public health professionals as they work in communities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation