The purpose of this article is to explore the barriers that the uninsured elderly population encounter when accessing health care in the United States. These barriers include, but are not limited to lack of transportation, insurance, or family support; the daunting complexity of the health care system; poverty; culture; poor patient-health care provider communications; race/ethnicity; and lack of health care professionals such as nurses and doctors with adequate geriatric preparation, or generalists who are undereducated in geriatrics. The number of health care professionals currently available to treat elderly persons in the United States is inadequate. The Federal government should take steps to develop solutions to improve access to health care and decrease health disparities for older adults. As a nation, we should be proactive in addressing these concerns instead of waiting for new barriers to arise that further limit access to health care for elderly patients and their families. In this article, we provide an assessment of the barriers that limit access to health care in the uninsured elderly population and suggest recommendations and possible solutions to eliminate or reduce these barriers.

Nursing programs should develop and evaluate similar activities to expose students to the challenges of living in poverty, and how this affects health and nursing practice.

Studies suggest we capitalize upon religion's health benefits to prevent obesity. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to determine how emerging adults used religion to manage their health. Two focus groups were conducted among White and African American participants. Content analysis of the data revealed categories about their attitudes regarding parental and religious influences, religion's influence on behavior, negative health effects of religion, barriers, obesity prevention, and health promotion programs. Society sends out "easy" solutions for unhealthy behaviors, but we should focus on healthy behavior benefits, remove barriers, and consider religion's part in health promotion (obesity prevention).

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Background: Despite growing understanding that African-Americans may have a more aggressive course of multiple sclerosis (MS) and experience disparities in diagnosis and treatment, fewer studies have examined how African-Americans experience MS and its impact on their lives. This study explored the experience of African American women living with MS in order to inform future research and practice. Methods: Face-to face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 African-American women. Inductive content analysis was used to identify major categories and sub-categories. Results: The analyses yielded three major categories: No one could believe I had MS; It's tough living with MS; and You have to keep going. Many women reported that the MS diagnosis was a surprise to them and their doctors because of the common belief that MS is a “Caucasian disease.” For this reason, many women felt their diagnosis had been delayed while their physicians initially focused on other diseases considered more typical in African-Americans. Living with losses related to social and family activities, independence and employment was especially challenging for them. Faith in God, coming to grips with the diagnosis and health promotion behaviors were key strategies for dealing with their MS. Women also spoke of pushing forward, working through MS challenges, and taking care of themselves, thus preserving their identity as strong Black women, a culturally important construct in the African-American community. Conclusions: Future research should explore the interactions of culture with coping strategies and the development of useful and valued resources and supports for African-Americans with MS.