Free Care Is Not Enough: Barriers to Attending Free Clinic Visits in a Sample of Uninsured Individuals with Diabetes - Open Journal of Nursing

OJN > Vol.4 No.13, December 2014

Open Journal of Nursing

Volume 4, Issue 13 (December 2014)

ISSN Print: 2162-5336 ISSN Online: 2162-5344

Google-based Impact Factor: 0.81 Citations

Free Care Is Not Enough: Barriers to Attending Free Clinic Visits in a Sample of Uninsured Individuals with Diabetes ()

HTML XML

Download as PDF (Size: 2496KB) PP. 912-919

DOI: 10.4236/ojn.2014.413097 5,650 Downloads 7,777 Views Citations

Author(s)

Jennifer A. Mallow^1*, Laurie A. Theeke¹, Emily R. Barnes¹, Tara Whetsel¹, Brian K. Mallow²

Affiliation(s)

¹School of Nursing, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
²Sovern Run, LLC, Albright, West Virginia, USA.

ABSTRACT

Free care does not always lead to improved outcomes. Attendance at free clinic appointments is unpredictable. Understanding barriers to care could identify innovative interventions. The purpose of this study was to examine patient characteristics, biophysical outcomes, and health care utilization in uninsured persons with diabetes at a free clinic. A sample of 3139 patients with at least one chronic condition was identified and comparisons were made between two groups: those who attended all scheduled appointments and those who did not. Geographic distance to clinic and multiple chronic conditions were identified as barriers to attendance. After one year, missing more than one visit had a positive correlation with increased weight, A1C, and lipids. Additionally, patients who missed visits had higher blood pressure, depression scores, and numbers of medications. Future research should further enhance understanding of barriers to care, build knowledge of how social and behavioral determinants contribute to negative outcomes in the context of rurality. Innovative methods to deliver more frequent and intensive interventions will not be successful if they are not accessible to patients.

KEYWORDS

Diabetes, Rural Health, Poor, Uninsured, Free Clinic, Chronic Conditions, Health Disparities

Share and Cite:

Mallow, J. , Theeke, L. , Barnes, E. , Whetsel, T. and Mallow, B. (2014) Free Care Is Not Enough: Barriers to Attending Free Clinic Visits in a Sample of Uninsured Individuals with Diabetes. Open Journal of Nursing, 4, 912-919. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2014.413097.

Cited by

[1]	Factors Influencing Healthcare Utilization Among Patients at Three Free Clinics
	Journal of Community …, 2022

[2]	A New Look at Barriers to Clinical Care Among Appalachian Residents Living With Diabetes
	Diabetes …, 2022

[3]	Patient Adherence to Health Care Provider Recommendations and Medication among Free Clinic Patients
	Journal of Patient …, 2022

[4]	Free Rural Clinics: City Folk Making a Difference in Rural America
	Dermatology in Rural …, 2021

[5]	Adherence to laboratory testing in pediatric liver transplant recipients
	2021

[6]	Telehealth model of care for outpatient inflammatory bowel disease care in the setting of the COVID‐19 pandemic
	2021

[7]	Mothers' Perceived Barriers to and Recommendations for Health Care Appointment Keeping for Children Who Have Cerebral Palsy
	2019

[8]	Improving Care for Spanish-Speaking People with Diabetes in a Free Clinic Setting
	2019

[9]	Posibles factores asociados al ausentismo en los pacientes activos de 18 a 65 años de ambos sexos de la clínica de nutrición de la Universidad …
	2019

[10]	Group Visits as a Path to Health Equity.
	Journal of Alternative and …, 2019

[11]	Evaluating Patient Navigation to Improve First Appointment No-show Rates in Uninsured Patients with Diabetes
	2019

[12]	Barriers to eye care among participants of a mobile eye clinic
	2019

[13]	Group Visits as a Path to Health Equity
	2019

[14]	Increasing Uninsured Patients' Compliance with Return Primary Care Visits
	2019

[15]	Association of Out-of-Pocket Annual Health Expenditures With Financial Hardship in Low-Income Adults With Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in the United …
	2018

[16]	Screening and Managing Adult Depression at a Free Clinic
	2018

[17]	Food Insecurity Is Associated With Poorer Glycemic Control in Patients Receiving Free Versus Fee-Based Care
	2018

[18]	The effectiveness of mI SMART: A nurse practitioner led technology intervention for multiple chronic conditions in primary care
	International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 2018

[19]	Association of out-of-pocket annual health expenditures with financial hardship in low-income adults with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the United States
	2018

[20]	Predictors of Patient Retention at a Student-Run Free Clinic
	2018

[21]	Feasibility Study for Wearable Appointment Reminders: Decreasing the Rate of Missed Appointments in Primary Care Clinics for Homeless Patients
	2017

[22]	Comparison of Hemoglobin A1C Results Based on At-Home and In-Lab Dried Blood Spot Sampling to Routine Venous Blood Sampling In-Lab in Adult Patients With …
	Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 2017

[23]	Part A: The Development of mI SMART, a Nurse-Led Technology Intervention for Multiple Chronic Conditions
	2016

[24]	The Use of Video Conferencing for Persons with Chronic Conditions: A Systematic Review
	2016

[25]	How to Start a Nurse Practitioner Faculty Managed Clinic: Missing Components?
	2016

[26]	Diabetes Mellitus in California: Complications, Modifiers and Spatial Determinants
	2016

[27]	A Multidisciplinary Intervention Utilizing Virtual Communication Tools to Reduce Health Disparities: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
	International journal of environmental research and public health, 2015

[28]	Depression and literacy are important factors for missed appointments
	Psychology, health & medicine, 2015

[29]	Study protocol: mobile improvement of self-management ability through rural technology (mI SMART)
	SpringerPlus, 2015

Journals Menu

Follow SCIRP

	+1 323-425-8868
	customer@scirp.org
	+86 18163351462(WhatsApp)
	1655362766

	Paper Publishing WeChat

Journals Menu

Home

About SCIRP

Service

Policies