“This study demonstrates that women in the reproductive years are a vulnerable population for receipt of low levels of preventive care services. We tend to focus on race and ethnicity when we talk about disparities. This study showed that we found very little difference across racial/ethnic groups. However, we see that being young, poor, or near poor, and having low educational levels, places women with diabetes at risk for suboptimal care in various areas,” Dr. Owens-Gary said.
Health care providers “should consider the vulnerable populations identified when providing outreach and in designing, monitoring, and evaluating the impact of programs,” she concluded.
The report, entitled Women With Diabetes: Quality of Health Care, 2004-2005, is available online at http://tinyurl.com/QualityofCareReport