What Are the Perceived and Experienced Barriers to Health Care Access for Low-Income, Rural Communities of Color in the Southern United States?

Objective: Examines the perceived and experienced barriers to healthcare access for low-income, rural communities of color in the Southern United States. Design: This study used focus groups to examine barriers to healthcare access in each community. The transcripts from the focus groups were analyzed using thematic analysis and description-focused coding in MAXQDA 2022 © software to determine the barriers that were common across all four communities of study. Setting: One community in Louisiana, one community in Mississippi, one community in Alabama, and one community in South Carolina (total of 4 communities). Participants: 37 adults participated in the study. Results: Three primary themes were identified: 1) long distances to hospitals and clinics prevent people from seeking and receiving healthcare; 2) people will not access healthcare out of a fear that they are sick; and 3) medical costs after insurance are a deterrent to accessing healthcare and medications. Conclusions: Fear associated with finding out that they are sick is a significant obstacle for participants to access healthcare. The study also confirms previous research findings that distance and medical costs are a major barrier to healthcare access. Importantly, the findings regarding distance demonstrate a lack of acceptance for local health services rather than a lack of availability, suggesting that a lack of acceptance creates a perceived lack of availability and need to travel for care.