African American perspectives on health care: the voice of the community.

African Americans often have interactions with health care systems, services, and providers that are quite different from those of other population groups. Residents in a predominantly African American community in the southeastern United States identified issues that had a significant influence on their health care interactions. Their insights about health insurance concerns, perceived quality of health care, and trust in the health care system provide a useful framework for the redesign of care that will better meet their health care needs.