Preventive services for rural and urban African American adults. Arch Fam Med 2000 Mar;9(3):263-6
Date
03/23/2000Pubmed ID
10728114DOI
10.1001/archfami.9.3.263Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0033835815 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 31 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that African Americans and rural patients receive fewer preventive services than other patients.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of preventive services by African Americans in urban and rural settings to determine if race and rural residence were additive risks for not obtaining preventive services.
METHODS: Three hundred African American patients seeking care in family practices in South Carolina were surveyed about preventive health care.
RESULTS: Rural and urban African Americans were equally likely to know about preventive services and be up-to-date on receiving these services. In both practices, those with lower incomes were less likely to be up-to-date. Patients seen in the urban setting were more likely to receive counseling regarding exercise and smoking than those in the rural practice (87% vs 71%, P = .003).
CONCLUSIONS: For both urban and rural African American patients with access to primary care physicians, preventive service use is high. The best predictor of poor compliance with preventive service recommendations was low income, suggesting that a lack of access to care is the primary reason why rural and African American populations do not receive adequate preventive health care.
Author List
Hueston WJ, Hubbard ETMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAged
Counseling
Educational Status
Exercise
Family Practice
Female
Humans
Income
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Compliance
Preventive Health Services
Primary Health Care
Rural Population
Smoking Cessation
United States
Urban Population