Understanding the Health Care Needs of the Medically Indigent of Grayson County

Research Design

Fifty completed interviews were collected by conducting a random telephone survey of the residents of Grayson County. In the telephone survey, people who answered their phone were screened to determine if they had had any problems accessing health care in the past year. Those who responded in the affirmative were interviewed. The interviewer asked a wide range of questions ranging from demographic characteristics, financial and community resources, barriers to care, competing needs, perception of health, and use of health care services. Each interview took about 15 to 20 minutes depending on the responses of the participants. The participants were randomly selected using a phone directory of Grayson. Participants had to be 18 years old or older to qualify for the interview. The questionnaire used was reviewed and approved by the UNT Institutional Review Board. A phone number was provided to the participants for any questions or inquiries. The sample consisted mainly of females (68%). The majority of the sample (88%) was of white, non-Hispanic ethnicity.

Two focus groups were conducted to collect qualitative data to complement the quantitative data. The focus groups met at Grayson Volunteer Health Clinic. The first group was constituted of five females and three males, including four doctors, and one county commissioner. The second group consisted of eight patients who had used the Grayson Volunteer Health Clinic. They included six females and two males. Topics covered during the focus group discussion included: identifying the major health care issues of the respondents, identifying unmet health care needs in the county, personal experiences with the health care providers, availability of prescription drugs, need for dental care, and cooperative and cost-efficient solutions to health care needs in the county.

Respondents in the telephone survey and in the focus groups were informed of their rights, including the purpose of the study, and the risks and benefits of participating. They were also informed that participation was voluntary. The participants of the telephone surveys and the focus groups were informed that their participation was voluntary, and that the results of their interviews or focus group comments would be kept confidential. Consent forms were signed by the participants of the focus group and verbal consent was given by the participants of the telephone surveys. A voice recorder was used with the permission of the participants in the focus group.

Quantitative data collected were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS. The chi-square test determined statistical significance and gamma was used to determine the strength of the relationship.