Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Preventive Health Care Utilization among Insured Adolescent Males: Do Connections to Providers and Sites Matter?

Abstract

This study evaluated the race and ethnicity-specific association between having a personal doctor or nurse and/or a usual site for care and preventive care utilization among 15,989 insured male adolescents. The 2021-2022 National Survey of Children's Health was used to conduct bivariate and multivariable binomial regression analyses and obtain crude and adjusted prevalence differences, overall and by race and ethnicity. Seventy-nine percent of male adolescents with a personal doctor or nurse had a preventive care visit, compared with 63.0% with a usual site but no personal doctor or nurse, and 31.9% with neither. Having a personal doctor a nurse was associated with greater preventive care utilization overall and for each racial and ethnic group [aPD:43.49 (95% CI:35.24, 51.73)]. Established relationships with a personal health care provider may facilitate preventive care utilization, which could be particularly important for racial and ethnic minority adolescents given existing disparities in health care utilization and outcomes.