Assessing Healthcare Accessibility in Rural Georgia

Background and Purpose

Individuals living in rural America experience significant health disparities when compared to their urban counterparts, including a shorter life span and increased rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. These issues are compounded by the limited access to healthcare and transportation available to rural communities. However, few studies to date have examined the reasons why rural individuals may not access healthcare services. The purpose of this research study was to identify predictors that might influence a person’s decision to access healthcare in rural Georgia.

Methodology

Accessibility to care has been identified as one of the primary reasons that rural populations may not utilize health services. A survey was conducted to examine healthcare accessibility of three rural Georgia counties (per the Georgia State Office of Rural Health’s definition of rural). The primary survey was disseminated in the spring of 2019 and was completed by 211 adults who resided in one of the three examined rural Georgia counties. Multiple linear regression was conducted to assess the relationship between access to healthcare and predictors that might influence a person’s decision to access health services. The independent variables were age, ethnicity, income, trust level of local doctors, and the quality-rating of local healthcare services.

Results

Questions on the survey included those about prevalent health conditions, perceptions of the community’s overall health, and the health services that were most difficult to access. Among the 211 people surveyed, about 55% reported that the services that were most difficult to access were specialty care and mental health services. The most significant reasons for a respondent delaying needed medical care was related to either the cost of the care needed (37%) or distance to the provider (7%). Of the variables examined, a person’s rating of accessibility to healthcare was most significantly associated with a favorable rating of the quality of local healthcare (p<.05).

Conclusion and Implications

Results of this study suggest that an increase in affordable and more accessible healthcare is needed in rural Georgia, specifically specialty care and mental health services. Determining the reasons why a person may not access healthcare requires an understanding of factors that could affect this decision. The influence that quality of care has on a person’s rating of access to care can potentially inform future interventions to increase healthcare access in rural communities. If the factors that influence a person’s rating of the quality of healthcare can be identified, changes can be made to increase the quality of local healthcare, and potentially increase a person’s likelihood of accessing needed medical services.