Authors: Taylor TL

Publication Year: 1988

Last Updated: 2016-04-06 20:14:57

Journal: Public Health Reports

Keywords: Adult; Age Factors, Aged, Ambulatory Care Facilities, Utilization, Cross-Sectional Studies, Educational Status, Health Services Needs and Demand, Health Services Research, Health Status, Health Surveys, Income, Insurance, Health, Male, Medical Records, Middle Age, Sex Factors, Urban Health

Short Abstract: 

The use of primary health care services by urban American Indians and their health problems were compared with national and regional data compiled by the Indian Health Service, Bureau of the Census, Office of Technology Assessment, and the National Center for Health Statistics.  A survey of medical records was conducted at urban Indian health clinics, one located in Oklahoma City, OK, and the other in Wichita, KS.  Health records of 500 patients from each clinic were reviewed.

Abstract:

The use of primary health care services by urban American Indians and their health problems were compared with national and regional data compiled by the Indian Health Service, Bureau of the Census, Office of Technology Assessment, and the National Center for Health Statistics. A survey of medical records was conducted at urban Indian health clinics, one located in Oklahoma City, OK, and the other in Wichita, KS. Health records of 500 patients from each clinic were reviewed. Information was gathered concerning reasons for visit, diagnoses, and number of physician visits. In addition, predisposing variables and enabling variables from each patient's registration form were reviewed. According to the data collected in the survey, the clientele of these urban Indian clinics have annual incomes well below the average income of the general population and the overall American Indian population in these cities. Their lack of health insurance and low education levels were also evident. Use of primary health services was below that of the general population, and lower, but relatively close, to use levels of American Indians residing in rural Oklahoma and Kansas. Information on health problems indicated high levels of diabetes mellitus and hypertension among the middle-age groups, and high levels of use by young women for prenatal care and contraception. The absence of systematically collected and comprehensive health and health care use information about urban American Indians, who now comprise more than half the U.S. American Indian population, and the limitations in the available information leave important questions unanswered.

Source: Link to Original Article.

Funding:

Code: 3116

Source: