Taking the pulse of a community: African-American/Black parents' experiences with accessing pediatric care in West and South Berkeley, California

Background: Challenges with accessing ongoing primary pediatric care place low-income African-American/Black children, ages birth to 5, in Berkeley California, at a particularly high risk for developing poor health outcomes, including asthma, obesity, and infant mortality. Objective: A community assessment was conducted to understand the perceived opportunities and barriers that African-American/Black parents of young children in West and South Berkeley face when accessing pediatric care. The assessment explored the extent to which the Medi-Cal bureaucracy, primary care safety net providers, and the practice of cultural humility, aid or hinder access to health care.

Method: Convenience sampling was used to recruit Medi-Cal eligible, African-American/Black parents of young children. Sixteen parents were surveyed at a local community health clinic and twenty parents participated in one of four focus groups.

Results: Findings show mutually trusting patient-provider relationships, uninterrupted Medi-Cal coverage, and accessible appointments facilitate access to care for young African-American/Black children. Conversely, experiences with racism, classism, and a lack of cultural humility by safety net providers pose challenges to accessing care.

Conclusion: To facilitate improved access to health care, low-income African-American/Black parents in Berkeley need health programming and services rooted in cultural humility and tailored to their sociocultural backgrounds, health beliefs, and lived experiences.