Medical care in aluminum city—I: Families and their ‘regular doctors’

Abstract

A survey on the perceptions and uses of ambulatory medical resources was conducted among a sample of families and unattached individuals in a small industrial community of Western Pennsylvania. This paper reports on the extent to which family units in the sample households have doctors whom they usually see when sick or injured. Over 89 per cent of the family units were found to have one or more members with a regular doctor whom they usually see. In over 10 per cent of the family units, a specialist was reported as the regular doctor for some family members, most often the children. In nearly 90 per cent of the units with regular doctors, one or more members had received medical services from his regular doctor during the two years prior to the interview. Certain demographic and socio-economic factors were examined as to whether or not family units have regular doctors. The most important of these factors was found to be the composition of family units, particularly whether 01 not there are children present in the unit. Family composition also was associated with the actual receipt of services from regular doctors: a larger proportion of families with children had members who received care from their regular doctors during the past two years than did married couples without children or single-member units. Age of the unit head also affected the extent to which regular doctors were reported for family members. In part this was due tc the close association between family composition and the age of the family head. The length of the family's residence in Aluminum City was of importance with regard to all members of the unit having a regular doctor: newer families in the community were less likely than established families to have a regular doctor for all family members. Only among married couples without children did family income have an effect on whether or not family members have a regular doctor. The socio-economic status of family units as measured by the education and occupation of the head of the family had little effect on whether or not family members have regular doctors. While the findings reported here cannot be generalized beyond the study community, they are suggestive of the influence of family composition and age on the perception and use of medical resources. We anticipate that further analysis of data obtained in these interviews (and comparisons with material derived from the future re-interviews) will throw additional light on the structure and patterns of medical care and on the public's concern with matters relating to health and illness.