Psychological and neighborhood factors associated with urban women’s preventive care use

Cindy B. Veldhuis*, Pauline Maki, Kristine Molina

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Women are more likely than men to forego care—including preventive care. Understanding which factors influence women’s preventive care use has the potential to improve health. This study focuses on the largely understudied areas of psychological barriers (depression) and neighborhood factors (support and stressors) that may be associated with women’s preventive care use through secondary analysis of the Chicago Community Adult Health Study. Across models, 30–40% of the variance in preventive care adherence was explained by the neighborhood. Depressive symptoms were not associated with preventive care use when neighborhood factors were included. However, stratified models showed that associations varied by race/ethnicity. Previous research has tended to focus on individual determinants of care, but this study suggests that barriers to care are far more complex. Efforts aimed at improving care utilization need to be multipronged and interventions need to take an individual’s demographics, mental health, and context into account.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)346-364
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Behavioral Medicine
Volume43
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2020

Funding

We would like to thank Stacie Geller, Arden Handler, Dan Cervone, Abby Koch, Kris Zimmermann, Leslie Carnahan, Evelyn Behar, Yamile Molina, Pamela Roesch, Veronica Arreola, Alisa Velonis, Maichou Lor, Billy Caceres, Dawon Baik, Kristine Kulage, Kathleen Ackerman, and Caroline Handschuh for their comments on earlier drafts. This work was supported by the Alice J. Dan Dissertation Award from the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender (CRWG). Dr. Veldhuis’ preparation of this paper was supported by an NIH/NIAAA Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (F32AA025816; PI C. Veldhuis). We would like to thank Stacie Geller, Arden Handler,?Dan Cervone, Abby Koch, Kris Zimmermann, Leslie Carnahan, Evelyn Behar, Yamile Molina, Pamela Roesch, Veronica Arreola, Alisa Velonis, Maichou Lor, Billy Caceres, Dawon Baik, Kristine Kulage, Kathleen Ackerman, and Caroline Handschuh for their comments on earlier drafts. This work was supported by the Alice J. Dan Dissertation Award from the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Research on Women and Gender (CRWG). Dr. Veldhuis? preparation of this paper was supported by an NIH/NIAAA Ruth Kirschstein Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (F32AA025816; PI C. Veldhuis).

Keywords

  • Depression
  • Neighborhood factors
  • Preventive care use
  • Racial/ethnic differences
  • Women

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology
  • Psychiatry and Mental health

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