Medical Mistrust among African Americans in Rockingham County, NC

Nationally, people from marginalized or underserved backgrounds, most notably individuals who identify as Black/ African American, suffer from increased rates of disease and worse health outcomes than Caucasians. In North Carolina, African Americans are more likely to be uninsured, live in poverty, lack a primary care provider, report poor health, experience adverse health outcomes, and have a shorter life expectancy than Caucasians. Many of the health conditions that disproportionately affect people who identify as Black/ African Americans could be addressed with early intervention and preventive health services which reduce the risk for disease, disability, and death, but due to a variety of reasons, preventive health services are underutilized. The purpose of this project is to investigate the role that medical mistrust plays in how people access preventive health services and to explore barriers, facilitators, and methods for accessing preventive health information in Rockingham County, NC.