Nurse managed center: access to primary health care for urban Native Americans

J Community Health Nurs. 2007 Spring;24(1):19-30. doi: 10.1080/07370010709336583.

Abstract

Urban Native Americans represent a small, diverse minority with unique health needs. The purposes of this descriptive retrospective study were to describe (a) the characteristics and primary health problems of urban Native Americans who receive primary health care at an urban nurse managed center (NMC) and (b) the nursing interventions provided at an urban NMC to urban Native Americans. A sample of 334 participants patient data were abstracted from a computerized clinical data set and coded based on the Omaha Classification System. The majority were over 40 years of age, were female, were single, completed high school, and were poor and uninsured, and many were unemployed. The most frequent health problems were related to pain, cardiovascular symptoms, dentition problems, and respiratory illnesses. The most frequent nursing interventions were for surveillance of physical signs and symptoms. The NMC was an accessible source of primary health care for urban Native Americans in northeastern Ohio.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Community Health Centers / organization & administration*
  • Female
  • Health Care Surveys
  • Health Services Accessibility / organization & administration*
  • Health Services Needs and Demand
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American* / ethnology
  • Indians, North American* / statistics & numerical data
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Morbidity
  • Nurse Practitioners / organization & administration*
  • Nurse's Role
  • Nursing Evaluation Research
  • Ohio / epidemiology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / ethnology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data
  • Primary Health Care / organization & administration*
  • Professional Autonomy
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Urban Health Services / organization & administration*
  • Vulnerable Populations