The impact of women's health clinic closures on preventive care

Abstract

We examine the impact of women's health clinic closures on women's preventive care use in Texas and Wisconsin using a unique policy context, data on clinic street addresses, and confidential respondent ZIP codes from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. From a within-ZIP-code analysis, we conclude that an increase of 100 miles to the nearest clinic results in a decrease in the annual utilization rate of a clinical breast exam by 11 percent, a mammogram by 18 percent, and a Pap test by 14 percent. These estimates are generally larger for women of lower educational attainment.