Public housing relocations and relationships of changes in neighborhood disadvantage and transportation access to unmet need for medical care

Introduction. Cross-sectional research suggests that neighborhood characteristics and transportation access shape unmet need for medical care. This longitudinal analysis explores relationships of changes in neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and transportation access to unmet need for medical care. Methods. We analyzed seven waves of data from African American adults (N = 172) relocating from severely distressed public housing complexes in Atlanta, Georgia. Surveys yielded individual-level data and administrative data characterized census tracts. We used hierarchical generalized linear models to explore relationships. Results. Unmet need declined from 25% pre-relocation to 12% at Wave 7. Post-relocation reductions in neighborhood disadvantage were inversely associated with reductions in unmet need over time (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.51−0.99). More frequent transportation barriers predicted unmet need (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.02−1.31). Conclusion. These longitudinal findings support the importance of neighborhood environments and transportation access in shaping unmet need and suggest that improvements in these exposures reduce unmet need for medical care in this vulnerable population.