Accommodation and Acceptability of Health Care by Non-Metropolitan/Metropolitan and Race/Ethnicity Status

Date
07/2023
Description

Related to health care, accommodation considers that a provider has organized their practice in such a way that patients can access services. Acceptability indicates that the services provided were to the satisfaction of the patient. This research examined rural-urban (i.e., non-metropolitan/metropolitan) differences in accommodation and acceptability by operationalizing two survey questions from the health care access optional module of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.

Key Findings:
  • Non-metropolitan respondents more frequently reported lack of transportation, whereas metropolitan respondents were more likely to report not getting appointments scheduled soon enough (both examples of accommodation barriers).
  • Among the non-metropolitan respondents, lack of transportation was most common among Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native respondents compared to non-Hispanic White counterparts.
  • Non-metropolitan American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic respondents reported not being able to get care soon enough at higher levels than other groups living in non-metropolitan areas.
  • Satisfaction with care was marginally but statistically significantly different between non-metropolitan and metropolitan respondents.
  • Among non-metropolitan respondents, a higher percentage of American Indian/Alaska Native respondents reported not being at all satisfied with their care.
Center
Rural and Minority Health Research Center
Authors
Whitney Zahnd, Radhika Ranganathan, Elizabeth Crouch, Peiyin Hung, Jan Eberth, Gabriel Benavidez