A comparative study of the correlation between health care changes and access to primary health services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This research study compared the correlation between changes in health care organizations and changes in community realized access in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the 1990--1996 period. The study analyzed variables to determine the extent to which a relationship exists between organizational changes and access to health care services.;The findings of the study show that a moderate relationship exists between organizational changes and realized access to health care services. Older residents and women in Pittsburgh's inner city and rural communities had lower levels of access to primary health care services as they had to travel a greater distance to receive those services after the organizational changes had occurred.;Data were gathered by sampling health care executives who participated in the changes of their organizations and community residents whose access levels have been affected by the changes. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographic characteristics of the study population, correlation coefficients were used to determine the association or relationship, and the z test was used to test statistical significance.