Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health Service Utilization Among Non-Hispanic Black and Non-Hispanic White Men:...

Persistent racial disparities underscore the disproportionate burden of poor health among Black men in the United States. Black men also use health care services less often, yet gaps remain in the literature on racial differences in health care utilization patterns. The objective of this study was to examine potential race differences in health care service utilization, specifically whether they had at least one office-based provider visit during the year between Black and White men. Data from the 2022 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were used, consisting of a sample of 5,921 men (4,837 non-Hispanic White and 1,084 non-Hispanic Black). The dependent variable, health care utilization, was based on the aggregated 2022 annual total of office-based provider visits and was coded as a binary indicator of whether the respondent had at least one visit during the year. Race and ethnicity were based on respondents' self-reported race and whether they identified as Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin. Approximately 73 percent of the men had at least one office-based provider visit during the year, and 18 percent of the sample were NHB men. After adjusting for covariates, NHB men had a lower prevalence of having an office-based physical annual visit during the year (prevalence ratio = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [0.77, 0.88]) than NHW men. This difference may reflect medical mistrust and other health care system barriers rooted in historical and ongoing discrimination against Black men, which limits access to care. These findings underscore the need to address the root causes of barriers to health care utilization among Black men.