The purpose of this dissertation research was to explore indications of disparities within the east Central Florida child and adolescent healthcare services market. Structured as a follow-up study to work completed in 2005 under the direction of the Health Council of East Central Florida assessing parental perceptions of community child and adolescent healthcare services, this research extended that evaluation by aggregating participant responses at the county and small area zip code group levels, contextually testing the uniformity of responses in understanding parent perceptions of access to, and satisfaction with, community healthcare service offerings available for children and adolescents. Under a variety of methodologies significance in the responses concerning access to healthcare services were demonstrated between the counties studied. Statistical modeling, however, could not demonstrate the core demographic differences among these data. Data representing perceptions of satisfaction with the services received by children and adolescents were demonstrated at the small area zip code group level within Orange county. Primary effect assessment of the demographic variables representing these respondents yielded findings generally consistent with theoretical expectations of disparity but, notably, the correlation effects between a number of key independent variables demonstrated a mediation of the primary effects on overall perception of satisfaction. Specifically, it was demonstrated that the interaction of white race with possession of private healthcare insurance, and the iv interaction of greater levels of educational attainment with black race, caused a proportional reduction in the predicted satisfaction score of these survey respondent cohorts. Further research specific to these phenomenon encompassing a clearer understanding of the type of care received and the individual’s specific experiences with their healthcare providers was recommended, with ensuing research to better identify commonalities of interactions with specific area providers, local restrictions imposed by area insurance carriers, influences caused by language and/or cultural barriers, and the like as drivers in understanding the individual dynamics of satisfaction.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-2667 |
| Date | 01 January 2010 |
| Creators | Schaefer, Jay M. |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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