Can Social Integration and Social Support Help to Explain Racial Disparities in Health Care Utilization Among Men with Diabetes?

Abstract

Objective: Discovering the mechanisms through which racial and ethnic background influence health is critical to better understanding racial disparities in health among men with a diabetes diagnosis. The present study examines whether social support and social integration mediate or buffer the relationship between race and health care utilization among U.S. men.

Method: This study used a sub-sample from the 2001 National Health Interview Survey that included Latino, African American, non-Latino White men living with self-reported diabetes (n = 7,148).

Results: Findings revealed that African American men with high levels of social integration were less likely to forego care (OR = 0.234, [CI = 0.053,1.045]). Also, African American men who did not attend church had higher odds of foregoing care (OR = 0.222, [CI = 0.110,0.448]).

Conclusions: The effect of social networks operate differently for African American men with diabetes compared to non-Latino white men. Identifying racial differences in the influence of social networks on health will assist in developing interventions that may help to decrease gender and race gaps in health for men with diabetes.