Paper
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Unmet Service Need in Relation to Trust in Health Care Provider Among Different Racial/Ethnic Groups
Huey Jen Chen, PhD, ARNP, Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Tampa, FL, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Identify differences in the health/mental health services unmet need among different racial/ethnic groups |
| Learning Objective #2: Identify barriers related to unmet health service needs among different racial/ethnic groups |
The emergence of managed care into the health care system was intended to change the behaviors of both providers and patients to contain rising health care costs. These management strategies raise concerns about interference with professional trust relationships and its impact on access to care and quality of care, especially for individuals with severe mental illness. Due to their vulnerability, they are less likely to advocate for themselves in receiving proper quality health care, especially for the disabled minority individuals. In addition, distrust of health care systems is a prominent feature of this population. In addition, distrust of health care systems is a prominent feature of this population. With these preexisting negative, disadvantaged conditions, changes in the health care system could further limit utilization of health/mental health services among this vulnerable population and result in unmet health care needs.
The purpose of this study is to investigate what differences in perceptions of unmet health and/or mental health service needs among disables individuals with different racial/ethnic background in relation to their level of trust in their health care providers and identified barriers related to the unmet health/mental health services.
Data were collected through a population based mail survey to Medicaid beneficiaries who received Supplemental Security Incomes (SSI) due to disability conditions other than head injuries. The final sample included 1151 adult Medicaid SSI recipients. The Trust in the Health Care Provider scale was used to measure participant's level of trust in their health care providers. A logistic regression model was used to identify the difference in unmet health/mental health need among different racial/ethic groups. Results of the finding will be presented and discussed.