No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access

Zinter, Kayleigh E.; Burns, Ryan; Pinnette, Ellen; Legare, Trent B.; McNeill, Sheena C.; Sedelow, Alissa L.; Moseley, Jeremy; Snow, Jennifer; Alexander, Latoya Mallard; Stakeman, Renee M.; Foster, Ashley B.

doi:10.3390/ijerph23070861

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Open AccessArticle

No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access

by

Kayleigh E. Zinter

^*,

Ryan Burns

,

Ellen Pinnette

,

Trent B. Legare

,

Sheena C. McNeill

,

Alissa L. Sedelow

,

Jeremy Moseley

,

Jennifer Snow

,

Latoya Mallard Alexander

,

Renee M. Stakeman

and

Ashley B. Foster

Center for Clinical and Community Impact, Advocate Health, 1000 Blythe Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28203, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23(7), 861; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23070861

Submission received: 31 March 2026 / Revised: 20 June 2026 / Accepted: 26 June 2026 / Published: 30 June 2026

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Trends in Mobile Healthcare)

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Abstract

Healthcare disparities are widespread across the U.S. Mobile health programming is designed to dismantle systemic healthcare barriers for medically underserved communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two southeastern U.S. mobile primary care programs. Guided by the Social Determinants of Health framework, this descriptive study examines the programs’ patient populations to determine reach and patient medical data to ascertain patients’ connection to the medical system and long-term primary care. Data were collected via electronic health record (EHR) and analyzed in Power BI and R. Basic descriptive, crosstab and chi-square statistics were conducted to assess the patient population and explore patient healthcare engagement prior to and following their initial mobile primary care visit. The results indicate that mobile primary care programs are utilized by systemically underserved groups, with both program A and B’s patient population identifying primarily as Latin/Hispanic (69.6% and 41.3% respectively), uninsured (99.1% and 59.8%), and Spanish-speaking (64.4% and 42.3%). Additionally, each program demonstrates an ability to engage patients in long-term primary care utilization via repeat utilizers (65.5% and 25.9%). McNemar’s chi-square results show that participation in either of the mobile primary care programs has a statistically significant, non-random measurable effect on patient primary care enrollment. Differences in program structure and findings are explored, and recommendations for future practice, research, and policy are discussed.

Keywords: mobile health; mobile primary care; program evaluation; community health; health equity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zinter, K.E.; Burns, R.; Pinnette, E.; Legare, T.B.; McNeill, S.C.; Sedelow, A.L.; Moseley, J.; Snow, J.; Alexander, L.M.; Stakeman, R.M.; et al. No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23, 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23070861

AMA Style

Zinter KE, Burns R, Pinnette E, Legare TB, McNeill SC, Sedelow AL, Moseley J, Snow J, Alexander LM, Stakeman RM, et al. No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2026; 23(7):861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23070861

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zinter, Kayleigh E., Ryan Burns, Ellen Pinnette, Trent B. Legare, Sheena C. McNeill, Alissa L. Sedelow, Jeremy Moseley, Jennifer Snow, Latoya Mallard Alexander, Renee M. Stakeman, and et al. 2026. "No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 23, no. 7: 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23070861

APA Style

Zinter, K. E., Burns, R., Pinnette, E., Legare, T. B., McNeill, S. C., Sedelow, A. L., Moseley, J., Snow, J., Alexander, L. M., Stakeman, R. M., & Foster, A. B. (2026). No Roadblocks: How Mobile Primary Care Navigates Barriers to Health Access. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(7), 861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23070861

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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