This qualitative exploratory case study explored why African Americans with multiple
chronic diseases decided to access or not to access preventive health services and to
understand how their perceptions contribute to health disparities. Eight African
Americans with multiple chronic diseases and five health care professionals that treat
individuals with chronic diseases participated in virtual interviews consisting of eight
semi-structured questions. The study involved interviewing a focus group panel of five
health care professionals, individual interviews with the eight participants, and a database
review to reach data saturation. Based on the analysis of the data, five themes emerged.
Theme 1: Beliefs in genetics versus accountability for behaviors. Theme 2: Lack of
health literacy can result in poor health decisions. Theme 3: Issues with trust and side
effects results in lack of medication adherence. Theme 4: Support systems can be an
advantage and disadvantage. Theme 5: Mistrust and lack of convenience when assessing
health care services results in self-treatment. The results indicated that African Americans
with multiple chronic diseases rely on family and social networks for health literacy,
impacting their treatment outcomes. The results also indicated that medication
management and self-treatment were recognized by the health care professionals and the
individuals who participated in the study as social determinants of health factors that
contributed to poor health outcomes. This study advanced the current literature on the
perceptions and experiences of minorities with chronic diseases and could support ways
to reduce healthcare disparities and improve health care outcomes.
Question:
Do the authors present a clear understanding of the differences between method and design?