Rides for Refugees: A Transportation Assistance Pilot for Women’s Health

Simone Vais, Justin Siu, Sheela Maru, Jodi Abbott, Ingrid St. Hill, Confidence Achilike, Wan Ju Wu, Tejumola M. Adegoke, Courtney Steer-Massaro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Transportation barriers can limit access to healthcare for refugee and asylum seeking women. This study assesses the efficacy of a healthcare-directed rideshare application for overcoming these barriers at an urban health clinic. A pilot study was conducted at Boston Medical Center’s Refugee Women’s Health Clinic from June 2018 to February 2019. Women with gynecologic visits reporting transportation difficulties were offered rides. The primary outcome was no-show rates. Secondary outcomes included cost, and patient/provider experiences. Of 102 eligible visits, 31 reported transportation insecurity and received rides. Those women had a 6% no-show rate, compared to 30% in women denying transportation barriers, and 50% amongst unreachable women (p < 0.0001). The intervention cost $2033 and generated $30,337 in charges. Minimal adverse experiences were reported. Healthcare-directed rideshare applications are an effective and cost-efficient strategy for refugee and asylum seeking women to access essential health services.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)74-81
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume22
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Feb 2020

Keywords

  • Gynecology
  • Refugee
  • Social determinants of health
  • Transportation
  • Women’s health

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