Access to health care refers to the ease with which an individual can obtain needed medical services. RAND research has examined the social, cultural, economic, and geographic factors that influence health care access worldwide; the effects of changes in access; and the relationship between access and health for specific U.S. populations—including racial and ethnic minorities, people with limited English proficiency, the uninsured, the elderly, children, and veterans.
News Release
Retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other stores can provide care for routine illnesses at a lower cost and similar quality as offered in physician offices, urgent care centers or emergency departments.
Research Brief
Describes RAND's evaluation of the progress made in the first years of Qatar's K-12 education reform.
Journal Article
Inadequate access and poor quality care for immigrants could have serious consequences for their health and that of the overall U.S. population. The authors conducted a systematic search for post-1996, population-based studies of immigrants and health care.
Research Brief
Evaluates a one-year trial in which two administrative requirements governing the provision of mental health care under TRICARE (the health care system for military personnel) were lifted, focusing on whether this increased access to such care.
Research Brief
California parolees' health care, mental health care, and drug- and alcohol-treatment needs, as well as where parolees go when they return to counties, place significant demands on counties' safety-net resources and on their ability meet those needs.
News Release
Inmates released from California prisons have a high need for drug treatment, health care and mental health services, but they face barriers to accessing such aid because many return to communities where health care services are severely strained.
Report
Inmates released from California prisons have a high need for drug treatment, health care and mental health services, but they face barriers to accessing such aid because many return to communities where health care services are severely strained.
Journal Article
Adolescent depression is common, disabling, and is associated with academic, social, behavioral, and health consequences. Teens with depression were significantly more likely to perceive barriers to care compared with nondepressed teens. Parents were less likely to report barriers than their teens; perceived stigma and concern about family member response were among the significant teen barriers. Teen perceived barriers scores were negatively associated with any use of antidepressants, use of antidepressants for at least 1 month and any psychotherapy or antidepressant use at 6 months.
Report
Assesses the health care needs of the residents of Prince George's County, Maryland, and the capacity of the county's health care system to meet those needs.
Journal Article
Efforts by countries to attain universal coverage are often hampered by supply constraints that can reduce access to care for those already in the system and, in many Asian and developing countries, by the emergence of informal payment systems that extract under-the-table payments from patients. In 2001, Thailand extended government-financed coverage to all uninsured people with little or no cost sharing.
Journal Article
Cross-sectional descriptive study describes characteristics of retail clinics, including their location, scope of practice, prices, acceptance of insurance, and ownership, and to estimate the proportion of the U.S. population that lives within a short driving distance of such a clinic.
Report
Updates RAND's evaluation of the antismoking and health programs established by the state of Arkansas with its share of the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement funds.
News Release
Retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other stores typically attract insured and uninsured patients who are seeking help for a small group of easy-to-treat illnesses or preventive care and do not otherwise have a regular health care provider.
Journal Article
Retail medical clinics located in pharmacies and other stores typically attract insured and uninsured patients who are seeking help for a small group of easy-to-treat illnesses or preventive care and do not otherwise have a regular health care provider.
Journal Article
Using a hypothetical emergency patient requiring close follow-up, D.C. providers were queried by phone to evaluate accessibility. The rate of privately insured receiving appointments was 71%, with Medicaid fee-for-service 36.6% and uninsured 13%.
News Release
Amid cutbacks in school arts education funding, public and private organizations in six urban regions have collaborated to expand access to arts learning for children in and outside of public school.
Journal Article
High levels of unmet need persist for children with special health care needs in the face of substantial resources that have been committed to improving their care, including the integration of behavioral health into Medicaid managed care.
Journal Article
The NHPC represents a model of shared learning and innovation through which health plans are tackling racial/ethnic disparities. Now that most of the plans have some data on their enrollees with diabetes and have begun targeting disparities, they want to capitalize on their collective industry strength to influence policy on issues related to disparities.
Research Brief
This fact sheet describes the diverse health care needs of immigrant populations and specifies needs that health policies can target.
Journal Article
Insurance gaps and delayed care are prevalent for low-income young adults who aged out of a public program for children with special health care needs, despite ongoing health problems. Greater transition support might improve access.
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