Utilization of Preventive Medical Services in the United States: A Comparison Between Rural and Urban Populations

Utilization of Preventive Medical Services in the United States: A Comparison Between Rural and Urban Populations

: Differences between rural and urban residents in their utilization of three clinical preventive services—Papanicolaou screening tests (Pap smears) for women aged 18 to 65, mammograms for women aged 50 to 69 and flu shots for people aged 65 or older—were examined using a nationally representative s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of rural health Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 349 - 356
Main Authors: Zhang, Ping, Too, Guoyu, Irwin, Kathleen L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2000
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Female
Humans
Immunization - utilization
Influenza, Human - prevention & control
Logistic Models
Male
Mammography - utilization
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Papanicolaou Test
Preventive Health Services - utilization
Rural Population
United States
Urban Population
Vaginal Smears - utilization
United States
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Summary:: Differences between rural and urban residents in their utilization of three clinical preventive services—Papanicolaou screening tests (Pap smears) for women aged 18 to 65, mammograms for women aged 50 to 69 and flu shots for people aged 65 or older—were examined using a nationally representative sample from the 1994 US. National Health Interview Survey. Eighty‐two percent of urban women and 79 percent of rural women (P=0.11) had Pap smears. Sixty‐eight percent of urban women and 61 percent of rural women (P=0.01) had mammograms. Flu shots were received by 55 percent of urban and 58 percent of rural elderly residents (P=0.11). Of women aged 50 to 69 who had a high school education or whose annual household income was between $15,000 and $34,999, significantly fewer rural than urban women had mammograms (P<0.01). However, the proportion of rural women receiving mammograms was not significantly different from that of urban women after adjusting for their education, household income and health insurance status. Education level, household income and health insurance coverage were positively associated with utilizing mammograms. These results suggest that differences in the utilization of preventive services between rural and urban women vary by services. Improving socioeconomic status and health insurance coverage of rural women may reduce the disparity in mammogram use between rural and urban women. Mechanisms of how a woman's socioeconomic status affects her utilization of mammograms needs further study.
Bibliography:istex:D34790ADFE34B5759E5852123AA8E4FAE7C15DCA
ArticleID:JRH349
ark:/67375/WNG-RGWGLDCR-R
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0890-765X
1748-0361
DOI:10.1111/j.1748-0361.2000.tb00485.x