Abstract
This study examined community service provider (CSP) availability relative to neighborhood socioeconomic status and its association with health-related social needs in Eastern Kentucky, United States. We used GIS methods to generate 10-mile network service areas around addresses of 736 CSPs and 10,161 Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries screened August 2018–April 2020 in 27-county study region. We observed wide variation in CSP availability and an inverse relationship between CSP availability and rates of unemployment, poverty, and federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The CSPs appear to have higher availability in more affluent census block groups. We found a statistically significant negative relationship between CSP availability within 10 miles of a beneficiary’s resident and the presence of food, housing, transportation needs. Our findings suggest that healthcare providers, government entities, and non-profit organizations should consider geographic accessibility to those most in need when making referral and funding decisions, particularly in rural communities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 6-22 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Public Health Policy |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
Funding
We gratefully acknowledge Community Action Kentucky, God’s Pantry, and the Kentucky Housing Corporation for assisting us with identifying community service providers in our study region. The Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc. and Kentucky Primary Care Association member clinics played a key role in deploying Accountable Health Communities Model surveys to beneficiaries. The Kentucky Consortium for Accountable Health Communities Community advisory board aided with interpretation of regional patterns and provided feedback. This study was supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $4.48 million with 100% funding by CMS/HHS (Grant Number: 1P1CMS331581; PIs: Williams/Li).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Community Action Kentucky | |
| Kentucky Housing Corporation | |
| Kentucky Primary Care Association | |
| U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | 1P1CMS331581 |
| Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services |
Keywords
- Accountable health communities
- Community services
- GIS
- Geographic availability
- Health-related social needs
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
