Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2023 - 26

FEATURE / MOBILE HEALTH
Le Bonheur
Children's mobile
clinic serves
rural patients in
Tennessee.
Underserved and vulnerable populations-those
who lack adequate
access to medical care for different
reasons, such as race, geographic
location, income, insurance, or language-are
at a much higher risk
of being hospitalized for avoidable
health problems and have higher
rates of morbidity and mortality.
Some estimates say more than 20 million
children in the United States lack
sufficient access to essential health
care, even those who live in urban
areas with no shortage of providers.
" Even if you have the most amazing
children's hospital in the world, some
people can't access that care, " says
Sanghamitra M. Misra, M.D., MEd,
FAAP, medical director of the mobile
clinic program at Texas Children's in
Houston. " They may be scared because
they don't have health insurance or
confused about how to navigate the
system. Or they don't even know how
to begin trying to figure out the logistics
of getting there. "
Besides mobile clinics' obvious solution
to transportation barriers, research
from the International Journal
for Equity in Health cites the informal
setting, familiar environment, convenient
location and staff who " are easy
to talk to " as some reasons vulnerable
populations value mobile health care.
Access isn't the only barrier to
care. Patients and families may avoid
medical visits due to poor health care
experiences or a perceived lack of
compassion. More than half of lowincome
patients believe doctors can't
be trusted, according to a report from
Mobile Health Map, a virtual tool from
Harvard Medical School. " Trust in the
health care system with underserved
communities was already low prior to
the pandemic, " Wallace says. " Mobile
health clinics are designed to become
immersed in communities by fostering
relationships, not only with patients
but with community organizations,
and literally meeting people where
they are and not dictating health care
to them. " Here's how mobile clinics are
helping to close the gaps in care.
Meeting unmet needs
Mobile health clinics have been providing
care for decades, but the pandemic
put them in the spotlight when there
was a rush to test and immunize the
nation against COVID-19. Their adaptability
and mobility were an ideal
solution, and since then states, community
organizations, and hospitals have
been increasing investments in them.
Mobile Health Map estimates there
are more than 2,000 mobile clinics now
in the United States-all capable of
serving a variety of needs. Those needs
vary from community to community
and shape the services children's clinics
offer and the populations
they
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CHILDREN'S HOSPITALS TODAY Winter 2023
Children's Hospitals Today - Winter 2023

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