Chronic conditions and physician use patterns in ten urban poverty areas.

Abstract

Little is known about the health status of the population in poverty areas where the concentration of the poor is high. The purpose of the study was to compare prevalence of chronic conditions among the poor in ten poverty areas with the national average for poor and then relate the level of chronicity to physician utilization. Some findings were: 1) the poor in poverty areas have a much higher level of chronic conditions, especially major chronic conditions, than would be suspected from national data on the poor; 2) persons with chronic conditions in poverty areas see physicians at a high rate regardless of income; and 3) for the vast majority of persons residing in poverty areas — the nonchronics — physician utilization is low. Conclusions are: 1) the escape from poverty by the poor in poverty areas is not optimistic without intensive effort at prevention of chronic conditions; and 2) perhaps some relationship may exist between low utilization of ambulatory care by the majority of the poverty population—the nonchronics—and the high chronic rate.