TABLE 2.

Association between Level of Unmet Social Need and Health Care Quality and Access in Low‐Income Adults (2017)

	Unadjusted outcomes by number of unmet social needs				Adjusted Regression Results
	0	1	2‐3	4+	Difference in probability	P‐value	95% confidence interval
Check‐up in last 12 mo	78.0%	73.2%	71.3%	65.4%
0					ref	ref	ref	ref
1					−1.4	.094	−2.9	0.2
2‐3					−3.7	<.001	−5.3	−2.2
4+					−7.1	<.001	−9.3	−5.0
Flu shot in last 12 mo	41.7%	35.5%	35.1%	32.7%
0					ref	ref	ref	ref
1					−1.5	.113	−3.4	0.4
2‐3					−2.3	.012	−4.2	−0.5
4+					−5.4	<.001	−7.7	−3.1
Have a personal doctor	80.2%	77.0%	74.3%	74.0%
0					ref	ref	ref	ref
1					−0.7	.311	−2.0	0.7
2‐3					−2.2	.001	−3.5	−0.8
4+					−3.1	<.001	−4.8	−1.4
Inability to see doctor due to cost	9.1%	17.7%	29.8%	43.9%
0					ref	ref	ref	ref
1					7.0	<.001	4.1	9.8
2‐3					17.0	<.001	14.1	19.9
4+					27.9	<.001	23.7	32.1

N = 19 454 respondents, representing a population of 10.95 million low‐income adults. Adjusted outcomes represent mean marginal effects from our adjusted regression models and are reported as absolute percentage point differences. All regression estimates adjust for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance status, self‐rated health status, educational attainment, income‐level, state, and indications for high blood pressure, current smoking status, heavy drinking, poor mental health status, asthma, diabetes, and depression. A difference in probability that is <0 means that the outcome was lesser for those with higher levels of unmet need, as compared to those without reported unmet needs (reference group).

Source: Author calculations from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.