Self reported health status, and barriers to self-management of chronic disease in an underserved community in rural Maine: Preliminary findings

Social and health disparities experienced by under-served rural populations have deleterious consequences for individuals, families, and communities. The current paper presents preliminary data from an ongoing Community based Participatory Research(CBPR) study with an isolated, poverty-stricken and under-served rural fishing community in the eastern most coastal town in the U.S. namely, Lubec, located in Washington County, Maine. We conducted semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 48 adults to examine self-reported health status, perceived health care needs and perceived barriers to self-management of chronic disease. Participants' responses revealed significant prevalence of cardiovascular disorders,diabetes and mental health disorders. The barriers to self-care include physical limitations due to old age, lack of knowledge, perceived gender role, financial constraints, a need for social and emotional support, multiple problems with medications, and overwhelming effects of dominant individual conditions. Many of these barriers are directly related to having comorbidities. Self-management interventions may need to address interactions between chronic conditions as well as skills necessary to care for individual diseases.