University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications

Title

Factors That Matter to Low-Income and Racial/Ethnic Minority Mothers When Choosing a Pediatric Practice: a Mixed Methods Analysis

UMMS Affiliation

Meyers Primary Care Institute; Department of Medicine

Publication Date

2017-03-08

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Health Services Administration | Maternal and Child Health | Pediatrics | Race and Ethnicity

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Pediatric practices' scores on healthcare quality measures are increasingly available to the public. However, patients from low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations rarely use these data. We sought to understand potential barriers to using quality data by assessing what factors mattered to women when choosing a pediatric practice.

METHODS: As part of a randomized trial to overcome barriers to using quality data, we recruited women from a prenatal clinic serving an underserved population. Women reported how much 12 factors mattered when they chose a pediatric practice (5-point Likert scale), what other factors mattered to them, and which factors mattered the most. We assessed whether factor importance varied with selected participant characteristics and qualitatively analyzed the "other" factors named.

RESULTS: Participants' (n = 367) median age was 23 years, and they were largely Hispanic (60.4%), white (21.2%), or black (16.9%). Insurance acceptance "mattered a lot" to the highest percentage of women (93.2%), while online information about what other parents think of a practice "mattered a lot" to the fewest (7.4%). Major themes from our qualitative analysis of "other" factors that mattered included physicians' interpersonal skills and pediatrician-specific traits. Factors related to access "mattered the most" to the majority of women.

CONCLUSIONS: Pediatrician characteristics and factors related to access to care may be more important to low-income and racial/ethnic minority women than more commonly reported quality metrics. Aligning both the content and delivery of publicly reported quality data with women's interests may increase use of pediatric quality data.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01784575.

Keywords

pediatric health care quality, choosing a pediatric practice, low income, minority, pregnant women

DOI of Published Version

10.1007/s40615-016-0309-x

Source

J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2017 Mar 8. doi: 10.1007/s40615-016-0309-x. Link to article on publisher's site

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities

PubMed ID

28275998

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