More than health care reform: Examining the health insurance disparity among college students at two-year institutions

Introduction: With the media's recent coverage of healthcare reform, it is important to understand the current healthcare climate in our country, particularly among college students. More than 40 million Americans are without health insurance coverage, including over 5 million college students. There is limited research about health insurance coverage among college students at two-year institutions. The purpose of this study is to examine the health insurance disparity among college students at two-year institutions and examine their healthcare seeking behaviors as it relates to the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STI).

Methods: Data were collected via self-reported questionnaire from 224 students.

Results: Descriptive statistics and chi-squares analyses were conducted. Fifty-two percent of the participants were female and 67% were White. Mean age of participants was 22.5 years. Eighty six percent of participants reported having health insurance coverage. Of those insured, only 19% were African American. Sixty-nine percent of Whites had visited a physician in the past year in comparison to 21% of African Americans. Chi-square analyses indicated that Whites were more likely to have health insurance coverage than African American students, χ² (12)=21.12, p<.05. Those students with health insurance coverage were more likely to have been tested for STI, χ²Conclusions: Though healthcare reform passed, a major disparity still exists between African American and Caucasian students as it relates to health insurance coverage. This study found that health insurance coverage is associated with STI testing which has major implications for colleges and health insurance providers.