Associations Among Distance, Patient Satisfaction, and Utilization of Two Types of Inner-City Clinics

The association between distance traveled by a patient to an inner-city clinic and his utilization of its services is investigated. Clinics are divided into two types—large-bureaucratic and small-neighborhood—to determine the extent to which clinic size and administrative structure affect this relationship. “Source of patient referral” is related to distance traveled to ascertain whether it plays any part in the association between distance and type of clinic. The relationship between frequency of attendance, which is an alternative to the distance-interval method of measuring utilization, and distance traveled to a clinic is also investigated. The study concludes by exploring the extent to which “patient satisfaction” is associated with frequency of attendance and with type of clinic.