Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Appalachian Studies
Date of Award
5-2018
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Rebecca Adkins Fletcher
Committee Members
Ronald R. Roach, Florence M. Weierbach
Abstract
Appalachia is characterized as being a place of health inequalities, including substandard health care access. Health disparities in access to health care persist in the region, and many Tennessee residents are unable to afford premiums, if they can afford insurance at all. Uninsured individuals rely on community based free clinics, which serve as health care safety nets and allowing people to obtain limited health care. This ethnographic investigation, involving semi-structured interviews and participant-observation of the Blackberry Spruce Free Clinic, provides insight into the continued need of health care safety net resources. This research provides a patient’s perspective on the barriers to care for the uninsured, the difficulties in managing chronic illnesses and other medical needs when relying on charity care, and the problems of clinic management in its role as a temporary solution for the uninsured population.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Rhoades, Courtney A., "Running the Health Care Marathon: An Ethnography of a Charitable Clinic in a Rural Appalachian Community" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3410. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/3410
Copyright
Copyright by the author.