Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes-Related Healthcare Service Use in the United States, 2016–2020

<p>Diabetes is a serious public health issue in the United States. As one of the leading causes of death, the prevalence of diabetes has increased steadily and leads to an enormous medical and societal burden each year. Compared to non-Hispanic White adults, racial/ethnic minority adults have a higher risk to develop diabetes and its complications. Proper healthcare service use is important for reducing the prevalence of diabetes and the risk of complications. However, minority populations receive a lower quality healthcare service and have greater barriers to diabetes self-management. To get a better understanding of racial disparities in diabetes-related healthcare service use, this project assessed service use status among adults who have been diagnosed with diabetes and adults who were at risk of developing diabetes and examined factors that potentially affected these disparities. The results of this project suggested that the use of diabetes-related care services was lower among minority patients with diabetes; the rate of undergoing diabetes screening tests was also lower among minority adults who are at risk of developing diabetes. Socioeconomic status, healthcare insurance coverage, self-rated health status, and health behaviors were factors that significantly impacted the diabetes-related care services use. The findings of this project implicated that promoting the use of diabetes-related care services is critical for reducing the burden caused by diabetes among minority populations. More effective and culturally tailored diabetes intervention programs and related healthcare policies are needed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Public Health, DPH

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Community and Global Health

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Song, Gaole

Contributors dc:contributor

• C. Anderson Johnson
• Wei-Chin Hwang
• Yawen Li

• Diabetes
• Healthcare Service Use
• Racial and Ethnic Disparities
• Public Health

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/478

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1509