RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Access to Primary Care for Persons Recently Released From Prison
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 549
OP 551
DO 10.1370/afm.2314
VO 16
IS 6
A1 Nahla Fahmy
A1 Fiona G. Kouyoumdjian
A1 Jonathan Berkowitz
A1 Sharif Fahmy
A1 Carlos Magno Neves
A1 Stephen W. Hwang
A1 Ruth Elwood Martin
YR 2018
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/16/6/549.abstract
AB We aimed to determine if a history of recent imprisonment affects access to primary care. Using patient roles, we telephoned to request an initial appointment with all family physicians (n = 339) who were accepting new patients in British Columbia, Canada. We sequentially assigned patient scenarios: male or female recently released from prison; male or female control. Controls were 1.98 (95% CI, 1.59-2.46) times as likely to be offered an appointment compared with persons recently released from prison, with an absolute risk difference of 41.8% (95% CI, 31.0-52.5). Our study suggests discrimination is a barrier to primary care for people released from prison, even with universal health insurance. We need to improve access to primary care during the high-risk period following prison release.