Public Housing Relocations and Relationships of Changes in Neighborhood Disadvantage and Transportation Access to Unmet Need for Medical Care
Year: 2017
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Cross-sectional research suggests that neighborhood characteristics and transportation access shape unmet need for medical care. This longitudinal analysis explores relationships of changes in neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and trans- portation access to unmet need for medical care. METHODS: We analyzed seven waves of data from African American adults (N = 172) relocating from severely distressed public housing complexes in Atlanta, Georgia. Surveys yielded individual-level data and admin- istrative data characterized census tracts. We used hierarchical generalized linear models to explore relationships. RESULTS: Unmet need declined from 25% pre-relocation to 12% at Wave 7. Post-relocation reductions in neighborhood disadvantage were inversely associated with reductions in unmet need over time (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.51-0.99). More frequent transportation barriers predicted unmet need (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.02-1.31). CONCLUSION: These longitudinal findings support the importance of neighborhood environments and transportation access in shaping unmet need and suggest that improvements in these exposures reduce unmet need for medical care in this vulnerable population.
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: Emory University, National Institutes of Health, Center for AIDS Research, University of Washington, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: Public Housing Relocations: Impact on Healthcare Access, Drug Use & Sexual Health, G2675028044, Public Housing Relocations: Impact on HIV risk and drug use, Neighborhood Factors, Sexual Risk, and STIs in HIV-Infected and High-Risk Women, G6113675784, Minority Populations Prevention Researcher Training, G9000034708, Substance Use and HIV Prevention Research in Minority Communities Training Program, Center for AIDS Research at Emory University
OpenAlex ID: W2590540815