Diversity in the Rural Poor: Differences between Households with and without Telephones

Abstract

Differences between households with and without phones in the United States as a whole are well documented, but these differences, and their implications for nursing practice and research, have received little attention in nursing publications. This article 1) reviews findings from national studies of these differences and 2) reports on a nursing study that examined such differences specifically in a random sample (N = 2,053) of low-income families having children eligible for but not using the well-child services of the Medicaid program in rural North Carolina. The study was part of a randomized trial of nursing interventions to encourage parents to use these services. The analyses reported herein focus on how families with and without phones differed in health-related characteristics and in responses to the interventions. The findings have relevance for public health nurses conducting outreach or research with similar low-income families, even when the outreach or research methods do not involve phone contact.

Will employers hire welfare recipients? Recent survey evidence from Michigan

“…Respondent bias might be present in the data, reflecting the differences between those who do and do not have working phones. Others have discussed problems with contacting a Medicaid population by phone (Donat et al 1995;Selby-Harrington et al 1995). The question remains as to whether those not reachable by phone are significantly different from those who are.…”

Consumer Perspectives on Medicaid Managed Care: A Comparison Between Rural and Urban Enrollees in One Selected Health Plan

“…Respondent bias might be present in the data reflecting the differences between those who do and do not have working phones. 0thers have discussed problems with contacting a Medicaid population by phone (Donat, et al, 1995;Selby-Harrington, et al, 1995). It is possible that unreachable families have more difficulty with managed care or have different attitudes and behaviors than reachable families.…”