Delayed Medical Care Among Low-Income Families of Color in Chicago

Rubi Rodriguez, Prosser Career Academy, Junior, Fall 2025

In Chicago’s South and West neighborhoods, illness doesn’t often begin with symptoms, but with hesitation. Even before a clinic is called, families face a rush of questions: “Can we afford this? Will this appointment change anything? The weight of these unanswered questions lingers heavily across homes where healthcare has long felt distant. For many families of color, these hesitations are rooted in realities of their environment. 

Researchers at Lurie’s Children Hospital note that, “in Chicago, only 36 percent of parents with low household income reported being in better health…compared to 75 percent of parents with high income” (Lurie Children Hospital, 2020). The difference between two neighborhoods can mean the difference between a long, healthy life and one cut short far too soon. These barriers shape when families decide to seek healthcare, often forcing them to put off a doctor’s call until symptoms become impossible to ignore. As Benjamin Esquivel, a Medical student at UIC, shares, “This creates a cycle because when people can’t get care early, they become sicker, and it becomes even more complex and expensive to treat later.” The impact of such delays stretches far beyond a doctor’s visit. It is visible across the city itself. 

As the American Medical Association points out, “In the AMA’s hometown of Chicago, inequities are evident in a 14-year life-expectancy gap between affluent neighborhoods and those on the city’s West Side.” (Robeznieks 2024) This 14- year life expectancy gap is not just a statistic; it is a direct reflection of structural inequities that shape daily life in marginalized communities, displaying what delayed care eventually leads to. This widening gap is also tied to a long history of medical harm that has shaped how families of color view the healthcare system. Jaresty Espinosa, an undergraduate student majoring in Biology at UIC, shares, “Instances such as the eugenic sterilization of Puerto Rican women in the 1950s and the collection of Henrietta Lacks’ cells in research show why the healthcare system has not given people of color much reason to trust it.”  When the past holds so many violations, hesitation is seen as self-protection. Addressing these barriers is the only way to ensure all of Chicago’s neighborhoods receive care with dignity, safety, and trust.