School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, United States.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
J Community Health. 2023 Feb;48(1):1-9. doi: 10.1007/s10900-022-01137-w. Epub 2022 Aug 25.
Innovative community-based public-private partnerships are forming to address health needs of underserved communities. This study partnered with laundromats in San Antonio, Texas to understand the health and healthcare needs of laundromat users as a possible underserved population. A total of 193 laundromat users across eight laundromats participated in a survey based on the Texas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) that asked about health status, access to care, vaccinations, and use of preventive healthcare services. Responses were compared to population estimates from Bexar County and the state of Texas. Results showed that over half of the sample of laundromat users were female, racial/ethnic minorities, living at poverty level, and did not have health insurance coverage. Compared to county and state population estimates, laundromat users were significantly more likely to report poor health and physical impairment; and were less likely to have a primary care provider, to have received a routine medical checkup in the past year, and to have been tested for HIV. Laundromat users were also less likely to receive some gender-specific preventive healthcare screenings such as pap smears and mammograms for women, and prostate exams for men than county or state population estimates. In the laundromat sample, 78% expressed interest in receiving healthcare services on-site at laundromats. Together, these findings suggest laundromats may be a unique setting for healthcare intervention to reach undeserved, racial/ethnic minority communities. Pilot programs that target this setting are needed to explore this opportunity to deliver community-based public health practice.
创新的社区公私合作伙伴关系正在形成，以满足服务不足社区的健康需求。本研究与德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥的自助洗衣店合作，以了解自助洗衣店用户的健康和医疗保健需求，因为他们可能是一个服务不足的群体。共有来自八个自助洗衣店的 193 名自助洗衣店用户参与了一项基于德克萨斯州行为风险因素监测系统（BRFSS）的调查，该调查询问了健康状况、获得医疗服务的机会、疫苗接种情况和使用预防保健服务的情况。调查结果与来自班德拉县和德克萨斯州的人口估计值进行了比较。结果表明，超过一半的自助洗衣店用户样本是女性、少数族裔，生活在贫困线以下，没有医疗保险。与县和州人口估计值相比，自助洗衣店用户更有可能报告健康状况不佳和身体残疾；更不可能有初级保健提供者，在过去一年中接受过常规体检，也更不可能接受 HIV 检测。自助洗衣店用户也不太可能接受一些特定性别的预防保健筛查，例如女性的巴氏涂片和乳房 X 光检查，以及男性的前列腺检查，而这些筛查在县或州的人口估计值中都有。在自助洗衣店样本中，78%的人表示有兴趣在自助洗衣店现场接受医疗服务。总之，这些发现表明自助洗衣店可能是一个独特的医疗干预场所，可以为服务不足的少数族裔社区提供服务。需要开展针对这一环境的试点项目，以探索这一提供基于社区的公共卫生实践的机会。
