142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

307601
Utilization, Satisfaction, and Self-Reported Barriers to Obtaining Health Services: Voices of Community Residents through HealthStreet, a Community-Based Site

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 12:50 PM - 1:10 PM

Linda Cottler, PhD, MPH , Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Corrine Ruktanonchai, MPH, CPH , Department of Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Catherine Striley, PhD, MSW, MPE , Department of Epidemiology/Colleges of Public Health and Health Professions and Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Darryl Pastor, MPH , Masters of Public Health Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
HealthStreet is a community-based site at the University of Florida which works to reduce health disparities within the community. Assessing community members’ health problems and concerns from their own perspectives, participants are referred to medical and social services plus opportunities to participate in research, thereby building trust in the community through collaboration and bi-directional communication. To promote community engagement, HealthStreet cultivates partnerships with community organizations, provides participants referrals to these organizations, and elicits community feedback on use and satisfaction with services obtained. This analysis reports on utilization, satisfaction, and barriers to obtaining services among community members provided referrals January through December 2013.

HealthStreet reached 901 participants with 2,673 referrals for a 30 day follow-up, among 1,267 persons eligible. 118 (13.1%) respondents reported utilizing 171 services, with 92% reporting being satisfied with one or more of the services obtained. Among 783 respondents not obtaining a service, top reasons included a personal reason such as not needing the service yet, using another option, forgetting, or not calling (55%), structural barriers including not having time or transportation (25%), encountering agency related barriers (5%), and having an upcoming appointment (2%).

The results of this analysis show that efforts to engage the community in health promoting activities can be highly successful, with a large majority of community members satisfied with the increased access to services through referrals provided.  A minority reported structural obstacles and may require additional efforts to overcome those barriers. While few universities engage community members directly, such methods may provide substantial value.

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Epidemiology
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate utilization of service referrals after 30 days Assess barriers to obtaining services among community members

Keyword(s): Accessibility, Community-Based Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Linda B. Cottler, PhD, MPH, is Dean’s Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Florida (UF). Cottler’s 30 years of research has focused on community efforts in public health and has spanned the globe. She is Founding Director of HealthStreet, which expanded to Florida in 2011 when she moved to UF, and has led the Sentinel Network, consisting of several sites assessing community needs in real time.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.