Does proximity to clinic affect immunization rates and blood pressure?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Family Medicine

Background:

• Primary care clinics are often located in neighborhoods to enhance patient access.
• However, the impact of this proximity on health outcomes remains largely unexamined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between the proximity of patients' homes to primary care clinics and childhood immunization rates.
• To determine if home-to-clinic distance affects adult blood pressure levels.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective chart review was conducted at a community clinic and a hospital-based clinic in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Geocoding patient addresses and analyzing distances using statistical tests to correlate with immunization status and blood pressure.
• Included children aged 2-5 years and adult continuity patients.

Main Results:

• Community clinics had significantly shorter median driving distances for both children and adults compared to hospital-based clinics.
• No significant correlation was found between home-to-clinic distance (linear or driving) and the proportion of children immunized by age 2 or age at completion.
• Similarly, no significant correlation was observed between distance and adult blood pressure values or abnormal blood pressure rates.

Conclusions:

• In this urban study, the proximity of a patient's home to a primary care clinic was not associated with improved childhood immunization rates.
• Clinic location relative to patients' homes did not correlate with adult blood pressure control in either community or hospital-based settings.