The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

4024.0: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - Board 6

Abstract #41620

Employment related constraints as a determinant of primary care access for low-income workers

Robyn P. Gleason, RN, MSN, University of Florida, College of Nursing, P. O. Box 100197, Gainesville, FL 32610-0197, 321-508-4719, rap@ufl.edu

Workers in the lower-wage market are less likely to have paid sick leave, paid vacation, or flexible working hours than workers in middle-income or white collar jobs. Given this, low-income workers may have difficulty accessing primary health care services due to employment-related constraints. While studies have demonstrated that higher socioeconomic status and insurance coverage are associated with better access to health care, little is known about employment-related barriers to care, such as the ability to leave or miss work to meet one's own health needs. This study, a master's thesis project to be completed in April 2002, adopts a descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational design to examine the extent to which sick pay, job flexibility, and availability of after hours care affect the ability of low-income workers to access primary health care services in a rural community in North Central Florida. A secondary aim of this study is to determine the comparability of scores from Likert and Visual Analog Scale responses on select items. Findings from this study are expected to improve our understanding of how issues other than insurance coverage and income may be either supportive or nonsupportive of lower-income employed persons' access to primary health care.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Low-Income

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Applying Methodological Techniques to Analyze the Effectivity of Managed Care and Primary Care Services

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA