An Ecological Approach to Understanding Preventive Service Utilization Among the Underserved

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Disparities Research
• Preventive Medicine

Background:

• Preventive services are crucial for reducing health disparities, yet remain underutilized by underserved populations.
• Patients with low socioeconomic status, racial, and ethnic minorities face significant health disparities and access barriers to preventive care.
• Existing research often overlooks the complex, multilevel factors influencing preventive care access for vulnerable groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance understanding of preventive service utilization among underserved patients.
• To introduce an ecological framework addressing multilevel factors influencing patient care.
• To incorporate patient-level and health system-level influences on preventive care access.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis to develop an ecological framework.
• Analysis of multilevel factors impacting preventive service utilization.
• Conceptual model development integrating patient and system influences.

Main Results:

• Identified multilevel challenges hindering preventive care access for underserved populations.
• Proposed an ecological framework detailing patient, community, and health system factors.
• Highlighted the interconnectedness of individual behaviors, social determinants, and healthcare system structures.

Conclusions:

• An ecological framework provides a comprehensive approach to understanding and improving preventive service utilization.
• Addressing multilevel barriers is essential to reduce health disparities and promote health equity.
• Future interventions should consider the patient's environment and health system interactions to enhance access to care.