No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Health Equity

Background:

• Healthcare disparities persist in the U.S., particularly affecting medically underserved communities.
• Mobile health (mHealth) initiatives aim to reduce systemic barriers to healthcare access.
• The Social Determinants of Health framework guides the understanding of health access factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of two mobile primary care programs in southeastern U.S.
• To assess the reach of these programs among underserved populations.
• To determine the impact on patients' connection to the medical system and long-term primary care utilization.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive study analyzing patient demographics and electronic health records (EHR).
• Utilized Power BI and R for data analysis, including descriptive statistics, crosstabs, and chi-square tests.
• Examined patient healthcare engagement before and after initial mobile primary care visits.

Main Results:

• Mobile primary care programs serve predominantly Latin/Hispanic (41.3%-69.6%), uninsured (59.8%-99.1%), and Spanish-speaking (42.3%-64.4%) patients.
• Programs show success in fostering long-term care, with repeat utilization rates of 25.9% and 65.5%.
• McNemar's chi-square analysis confirmed a statistically significant positive effect of mobile primary care on patient enrollment.

Conclusions:

• Mobile primary care programs are vital for reaching and engaging systemically underserved populations.
• These programs demonstrate a measurable impact on increasing long-term primary care enrollment.
• Further research and policy development are recommended to optimize mobile primary care delivery.