Date of Conferral
11-18-2025
Date of Award
November 2025
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Sarah Matthey
Abstract
Health care experiences are shaped by life events and cultural background, making engagement with providers individualized. African Americans have historically reported distrust of health professionals due to targeted mistreatment. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of middle-aged African American adults receiving care from non-African American health care providers. Rosenstock’s health belief model was the framework for the study. Nine participants were recruited from social media using purposeful sampling. Data were gathered through semistructured interviews held on Zoom. Saldana’s four-step qualitative data analysis process was utilized to analyze the data. The results of the data analysis yielded five themes: (a) middle-aged African American adults desire health care services considerate of culture, (b) middle-aged African American adults experience communication challenges with non-African American health care providers, (c) middle-aged African American adults have varied experiences with non-African American health care providers, (d) middle-aged African American adults experience unconscious bias when receiving health care services from non-African American health care providers, and (e) middle-aged African American adults experience systemic limitations when receiving health care services from non-African American health care providers. The focus on middle-aged African American adults’ experiences of engagement contributes to raising awareness of the cultural and systemic changes needed to reduce barriers to care, promote societal change, and improve the quality of health care for African Americans.
Recommended Citation
Sullivan, Sandy LaTreice, "The Experiences of African Americans Seeking Health Care Services" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 18773.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/18773
