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Determinants of emergency department use: are race and ethnicity important?
- Source :
-
Annals of emergency medicine [Ann Emerg Med] 1996 Dec; Vol. 28 (6), pp. 677-82. - Publication Year :
- 1996
-
Abstract
- Study Objective: To determine whether race/ethnicity is an important determinant of emergency department use.<br />Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in a public ED to determine self-reported ED visits over the preceding 3 months. The study group comprised consecutive ambulatory patients (N = 1,049) with nonemergency medical problems.<br />Results: Blacks, whites, and Hispanics were equally likely to report one or more visits to an ED in the 3 months before study enrollment. Blacks were the most likely to report two or more ED visits in the preceding 3 months (19.0%), followed by whites (13.5%) and Hispanics (11.4%) (P = .01; unadjusted odds ratio, 1.82 for blacks versus Hispanics). In multivariate analysis, older age (P < .001), health insurance coverage (P < .001), regular source of care (P < .001), and difficulty obtaining transportation to a physician's office (P = .011) were positively associated with two or more previous ED visits. After adjustment for these variables, race/ethnicity was not significantly associated with ED use (P = .23; adjusted odds ratio for blacks versus Hispanics, 1.48 [95% confidence interval, .95 to 2.30]).<br />Conclusion: Race/ethnicity was not an important determinant of ED use after adjustment for age, health insurance coverage, regular source of care, and barriers to health care. Population-based studies of ED use should be conducted to further evaluate whether racial/ethnic differences in ED use exist that are not explained by differences in demographics, health, socioeconomic status, access to care, or other determinants of ED use.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Black or African American
Aged
California
Confidence Intervals
Cross-Sectional Studies
Female
Health Services Accessibility
Hispanic or Latino
Hospitals, University
Humans
Insurance, Health
Male
Middle Aged
Odds Ratio
Transportation
White People
Emergency Service, Hospital statistics & numerical data
Ethnicity
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0196-0644
- Volume :
- 28
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Annals of emergency medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 8953959
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s0196-0644(96)70093-8