ERIC Number: EJ1080995
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Dec
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1090-1981
EISSN: N/A
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Use of Health Care Services for Diabetes Management
Chandler, Raeven Faye; Monnat, Shannon M.
Health Education & Behavior, v42 n6 p783-792 Dec 2015
Research demonstrates consistent racial/ethnic disparities in access to and use of health care services for a variety of chronic conditions. Yet we know little about whether these disparities exist for use of health care services for diabetes management. Racial/ethnic minorities disproportionately suffer from diabetes, complications from diabetes, and diabetes-related mortality. Proper diabetes management can reduce the risk of complications and premature mortality. Using a large national data set (N = 37,705) of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American U.S. adults aged 65 years and older who have been diagnosed with diabetes, we examine three specific types of health care provider (HCP) use for diabetes management: number of times seen by a health care professional for diabetes, number of times feet have been checked by a health care professional, and number of visits for a glycosylated hemoglobin check. We found that net of controls for a variety of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, Blacks and Hispanics had significantly more visits to a HCP for their diabetes and significantly more glycosylated hemoglobin checks than Whites, and Blacks and Native Americans had significantly more HCP feet checks than Whites. Our results suggest that the reduced access to health care services traditionally found among racial/ethnic minorities does not hold for access to health care services for diabetes management, where racial/ethnic minority diabetics are actually more likely to use care than are White diabetics. Future research should examine whether higher use of health care services for diabetes among racial/ethnic minorities is due to greater disease severity among racial/ethnic minorities than among non-Hispanic Whites.
Descriptors: Racial Differences, Ethnic Groups, Diabetes, Health Services, Minority Groups, Disproportionate Representation, Whites, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians, Older Adults, Health Personnel, Access to Health Care, Statistical Analysis, Individual Characteristics, At Risk Persons, Multivariate Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Grant or Contract Numbers: R24HD041025