Compliance With Routine Health Checkup Visits Among California-Based Minority Men: A Survey Study.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Health Disparities
• Minority Health

Background:

• Limited research exists on healthcare disparities affecting U.S. minority men.
• Post-pandemic changes may disproportionately impact this population's healthcare access.
• Understanding factors influencing routine checkup compliance is vital.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors affecting routine health checkup compliance among minority men in California.
• To assess the impact of socioeconomic status, insurance, and health insurance literacy on healthcare access.
• To inform strategies for reducing healthcare disparities in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• An IRB-approved electronic survey was administered to 266 California-based minority men (Oct 2022-Jul 2023).
• Data collected included demographics, socioeconomic status, insurance, clinic connection, and health insurance literacy.
• Analysis employed random forest modeling and logistic regression to determine key influencing factors.

Main Results:

• Only 50.8% of participants attended routine health checkups, despite 84.9% having health insurance.
• Key factors influencing compliance were zip code, clinic connection, and ability to locate an insurance-covered clinic.
• Half of insured minority men under 60 in California are not attending routine checkups.

Conclusions:

• Significant barriers related to healthcare accessibility and health insurance literacy impede routine checkup attendance.
• Targeted interventions addressing these barriers are needed to improve health equity.
• Findings underscore the need for improved healthcare utilization and outcomes among minority men.