Race, Ethnicity, and Access to Health Care, Rhode Island, 1990

Differences in access to health care by race and ethnicity have been examined using data obtained from a statewide health interview survey conducted by Rhode Island Department of Health in 1990 (N = 6,536 individuals in 2,586 households), in which ethnic minorities were oversampled. Compared to White non-Hispanic (WNH) respondents, White Hispanics (WH) were more likely to lack a regular source of medical care at some time in the past twelve months (14.0% vs. 9.8%) and were much more likely to lack health insurance coverage (22.7% vs. 7.5%). Black respondents were more likely to lack regular source of care (10.4%) and health insurance coverage (17.4%). Asian respondents also had a high proportion without insurance (13.5%). Multivariate analysis has been employed to identify significant social, economic, and demographic determinants of inadequate access to care, including variables for race/ethnicity, age, sex, income, education, and employment status, and to quantify their independent contributions as predictors of level of access.