Urban neighborhoods with high percentages of African-Americans and Hispanics face poorer access to doctors, according to a study led by a Christiana Care Health System physician researcher.
The research was published in the August issue of the journal Health Affairs.
The study is one of the first drill down to census tract data to determine ratios and consider how geography may create barriers to care within city neighborhoods.
“Primary care is the gateway to improved health outcomes and forms the base of efficient health systems,” said Elizabeth J. Brown, the Harrington Clinician Scholar at Christiana Care’s Value Institute and a primary care physician with Christiana Care’s Department of Family and Community Medicine. “Considering the results of our study, policymakers may consider how accessible primary care is, even in densely-populated neighborhoods, when assessing ways to improve the health of our communities.”
Whereas most research on doctor-to-population ratios has concentrated on those ratios at the city, county or state level, the study in Health Affairs analyzed census tracts.
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