Chronic Illness Among Private and Public Health Insurance Holders in Adults of Poverty Status

Citation

Cute, Zoe (2023). Chronic Illness Among Private and Public Health Insurance Holders in Adults of Poverty Status.

Abstract

When discussing chronic illnesses, it is important to consider how factors such as socioeconomic status (SES) and health insurance impact the presence of chronic illness in the lives of adults. Most prior research on this topic addresses the association between health insurance type and an individual’s access to healthcare services, but fails to directly address the association between health insurance type and chronic illness outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to explore associations among poverty status, health insurance type, and chronic illness outcomes of adults in early midlife. An exploratory hypothesis was tested using a Mann-Whitney test and independent samples t-test, while the primary hypotheses were tested using chi-square tests of association and a logistic regression model. Results indicated that public health insurance and living in poverty were predictors of chronic illnesses in adults. Sex assigned at birth, education level, and race were also significant predictors of chronic illness outcomes. Specific findings regarding race indicated that Black individuals are 38% more likely to have chronic illnesses, American Indian individuals were 44% more likely to have chronic illnesses, and Other races were 50.1% less likely to have chronic illnesses. Implications include implementing a system that allows professionals to reflect on their personal biases and expand health insurance coverage to meet the needs of diverse population groups. Areas for future research include assessing the impact of poverty and health insurance on the quality of life for individuals with a chronic illness, conducting longitudinal studies on the impacts of childhood well-being on chronic illness outcomes later in life, and studying protective factors for the health of diverse population groups.

URL

https://www.proquest.com/docview/2863145979?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true#

Keyword(s)

Chronic illness

Reference Type

Thesis/Dissertation

Author(s)

Cute, Zoe

Series Author(s)

Adams, Sue K.

Year Published

2023

Publisher

University of Rhode Island

City of Publication

United States -- Rhode Island

ISSN/ISBN

9798380311960

DOI