Racial/Ethnic and Socioeconomic Disparities in Access to Care and Quality of Care for US Health Center Patients Compared With Non–Health Center Patients

Abstract

This study aims to compare racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to care and quality of care for US health center patients and non-health center patients. Data for the study came from the 2002 Community Health Center User Survey and the 2003 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Descriptive analysis was performed using nationally representative survey data pertaining to access to care and quality of care for people of different races, ethnicities, incomes, and education levels. Results of the study show that health center patients experience fewer racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to care and quality of care, compared with non-health center patients nationally. Racial/ethnic disparities favoring whites occur in non-health center patients in every measure of quality and access included in this study. Conversely, there are few disparities favoring whites among health center users. Education and income-related disparities occur for several measures of access and quality in both health center and non-health center patients; however, the magnitude of these disparities is usually greater among non-health center patients compared with health center patients. In conclusion, health centers have been touted for cost-efficient, high-quality care. This study adds to growing evidence that health centers may also help eliminate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in access to care and quality of care.

Employment and Family Conditions Are Related to Health Care Utilization Among Foreign-Born Farmworker Men

“…Contrary to common assumptions (Arcury & Quandt, 2007;Villarejo, 2003), being able to speak English was not a major barrier to accessing health services in this sample. This finding is consistent with a recent study among California farmworkers (Hoerster et al, 2010) and may be caused in part by the support workers receive in Spanish that can break down communication and other access to care barriers (Holmes, 2012;Shi, Tsai, Higgins, & Lebrun, 2009). More broadly, these findings add to recent discussions regarding the limitations of acculturation measures (such as "speaking English") and to understanding health care inequalities between Latino and other immigrant populations (Fitzgerald, 2010;Holmes, 2012;Zambrana & Carter-Pokras, 2010).…”

The Impact of Primary Care: A Focused Review

“…A large body of research suggests that CHCs increase access to primary care for these populations [192, 193, 204, 205], reduce hospitalizations [192], and provide high quality care for these particularly challenging populations when compared to other providers and settings [172–175, 196, 197, 206]. In addition, CHCs may reduce disparities by race/ethnicity, income, or insurance status [31, 32, 176–178, 205, 207, 208]. Studies also suggest that the quality of care these populations receive at CHCs is the same as the quality provided by other primary care providers and that health center patients may incur lower inpatient costs [155, 209].…”

Patient-centered Medical Home Capability and Clinical Performance in HRSA-supported Health Centers

“…8,9 HRSA’s PCMH initiative supports HCs’ efforts to adopt PCMH features and gain recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, by providing education, training, technical assistance, and fee waivers for gaining recognition. 10 By the end of fiscal year 2014, HRSA aims to have approximately 40% of HCs recognized.…”