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Rural, Urban and Suburban Comparisons of Preventive Services in Family Practice Clinics
Author(s) -
Pol Louis G.,
Rouse Jenine,
Zyzanski Stephen,
Rasmussen Donadea,
Crabtree Benjamin
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the journal of rural health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.439
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1748-0361
pISSN - 0890-765X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-0361.2001.tb00267.x
Subject(s) - rural area , health services , medicine , rural health , service (business) , environmental health , family medicine , variance (accounting) , socioeconomics , business , population , marketing , accounting , pathology , sociology
Numerous studies have compared health services provided in rural and urban areas, and overall they have found that utilization is lower in rural areas. A significant factor in lower utilization is that rural residents have less access to health services. Much less is known about rural and urban utilization differences once a patient has access to a service provider. This paper focuses on preventive services received when a patient is already in a clinic. Using data from an in‐depth qualitative study of 16 family practice clinics in Nebraska, comparisons of physician‐specific preventive service rates are made across three geographic categories: rural, urban and suburban. Results from a one‐way multivariate analysis of variance show that preventive services rates for nine services examined were as high or higher in rural areas, suggesting that rural health services do not lag for patients with access.