Hispanic ethnicity, rural residence, and regular source of care

This study assessed whether Hispanic ethnicity and rural residence were related to usual source-of-care. We studied 3,689 persons over age 65 who lived in their own homes in a 108-county area in West Texas. A telephone interview in two waves was used to collect information. Usual source-of-care was measured in two ways: by asking if the subject had a usual place to go and by asking if the subject had a personal physician or nurse. In a logistic regression analysis, Hispanic ethnicity was independently associated with both having a usual place of care (OR = .511, CI = .32-.82) and a usual provider (OR = .629, CI = .45-.88). Rural residence was not associated with either measure. Efforts to promote usual source-of-care should be targeted at Hispanic seniors in this region of the southwestern United States.