Description
The purpose of this study was to examine and understand the predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics of a cross-sectional sample of Somalis living in San Diego with regards to their utilization of healthcare services. More specifically, to address if there are health disparities among Somalis with respect to healthcare utilization and what barriers exist that contribute to these disparities. The guiding framework for this study is Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services Use, and followed a mixed methods research design . The sample population consisted of 40 self-identified ethnic Somalis that were 18 years of age or older, and were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling. Quantitative data was collected through a questionnaire based on the 2013-2014 California Health Interview Surveys Questionnaire (CHIS) and 2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2015; National Center for Health Statistics, 2016). The qualitative data was gathered through focus group interviews. The quantitative data was analyzed by using descriptive statistics that measure frequency and chi square test of association; whereas the qualitative data was audio recorded, transcribed, and thematically coded based on the constructs of the theoretical model. The factors that were found to be most significant in explaining the healthcare utilization of the sample was: age, country of birth, legal status, location of care, being diagnosed with a health condition, last routine check-up, having a main provider, employment, health status, and need for language assistance. The focus group interviews highlighted the following factors as significant: gender, language, beliefs about health, beliefs about the healthcare system, expectations of the healthcare system, religious health beliefs, the qualities and characteristics of the provider, affordability, and location of care; perceived need as significant. These factors can serve as barriers to using healthcare services and contributes significantly to the observed health disparities in this population.
