The importance of sense of community on people's perceptions of their health-care experiences.
OBJECTIVE
The authors study the relationship between people's sense of community and problems they experience with the health-care system, specifically problems related to cost, access, provider choice, and satisfaction.


METHODS
Data from a 1993 Florida poll (n = 1202) was used to conduct a multinomial logit analysis to estimate people's sense of community as a function of 13 characteristics and perceptions of community. Logit analysis was used to estimate the relationship between people's sense of community and their health-care experiences, controlling for other demographic influences, including insurance coverage and self-reported health status.


RESULTS
Lower sense of community was significantly associated with higher levels of choice, cost, and satisfaction problems in people's interactions with the health-care sector.


CONCLUSIONS
Community quality needs to be considered in efforts to improve the functional capabilities of health-care institutions.
Ahern
M M
MM
Health Policy and Administration Program, Washington State University, Spokane 99204-0399, USA.
Hendryx
M S
MS
Siddharthan
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003256:Community Participation; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006302:Health Services Research; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors