National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 19 of 19 Research Studies DisplayedRoberts ET, Kwon Y, Hames AG
Racial and ethnic disparities in health care use and access associated with loss of Medicaid supplemental insurance eligibility above the federal poverty level.
The purpose of this study was to examine whether exceeding the income threshold for Medicaid, which causes a sudden loss of Medicaid eligibility, is related with higher racial and ethnic disparities in access to and use of care. The researchers evaluated Medicare beneficiaries with incomes 0% to 200% of FPL from the 2008 to 2018 biennial waves of the Health and Retirement Study linked to Medicare administrative data. To identify racial and ethnic disparities related with the loss of Medicaid eligibility, the researchers compared discontinuities in outcomes among Black and Hispanic beneficiaries and White beneficiaries. Analyses were conducted between January 1, 2022, and October 1, 2022. The primary outcomes were patient-reported challenges accessing care due to cost and outpatient service use, medication fills, and hospitalizations measured from Medicare administrative data. The study included 8,144 participants representing 151,282, 957 weighted person-years in the community-dwelling population of Medicare beneficiaries aged 50 years and older and incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Study findings indicate that exceeding the Medicaid eligibility threshold was related with a 43.8 percentage point (pp) lower probability of Medicaid enrollment among Black and Hispanic Medicare beneficiaries and a 31.0 pp lower probability of Medicaid enrollment among White beneficiaries. Among Black and Hispanic beneficiaries, exceeding the threshold was associated with increased cost-related barriers to care, lower outpatient use, and fewer medication fills, but it was not associated with a statistically significant discontinuity in hospitalizations. Discontinuities in these outcomes were smaller or nonsignificant among White beneficiaries. Consequently, exceeding the threshold was associated with widened disparities, including greater reductions in outpatient service use and medication fills among Black and Hispanic vs White beneficiaries.
AHRQ-funded; HS026727.
Citation: Roberts ET, Kwon Y, Hames AG .
Racial and ethnic disparities in health care use and access associated with loss of Medicaid supplemental insurance eligibility above the federal poverty level.
JAMA Intern Med 2023 Jun; 183(6):534-43. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2023.0512..
Keywords: Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Medicaid, Access to Care, Health Insurance, Low-Income, Access to Care
McCoy RG, Van Houten HK, Deng Y
Comparison of diabetes medications used by adults with commercial insurance vs Medicare Advantage, 2016 to 2019.
Investigators sought to compare trends in initiation of treatment with GLP-1RA, SGLT2i, and DPP-4i by older adults with type 2 diabetes insured by Medicare Advantage vs commercial health plans. They found that Medicare Advantage beneficiaries may be less likely than commercially insured beneficiaries to be treated with newer medications to lower glucose levels, with greater disparities among lower-income patients. They recommended further investigation of nonclinical factors contributing to treatment decisions and efforts to promote greater equity in diabetes management.
AHRQ-funded; HS025164.
Citation: McCoy RG, Van Houten HK, Deng Y .
Comparison of diabetes medications used by adults with commercial insurance vs Medicare Advantage, 2016 to 2019.
JAMA Netw Open 2021 Feb;4(2):e2035792. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.35792..
Keywords: Elderly, Diabetes, Chronic Conditions, Medication, Medicare, Health Insurance, Disparities, Low-Income
Patel SA, Krasnow M, Long K
Excess 30-day heart failure readmissions and mortality in black patients increases with neighborhood deprivation.
Researchers examined whether neighborhood environment modifies the disparity in 30-day heart failure (HF) readmissions and mortality between Black and White patients in the Southeastern United States. They created a geocoded retrospective cohort of patients hospitalized for acute HF from 2010-2018 within Emory Healthcare. They found that excess 30-day HF readmissions and mortality were present among Black patients in every neighborhood strata and increased with progressive neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation.
AHRQ-funded; HS026081.
Citation: Patel SA, Krasnow M, Long K .
Excess 30-day heart failure readmissions and mortality in black patients increases with neighborhood deprivation.
Circ Heart Fail 2020 Dec;13(12):e007947. doi: 10.1161/circheartfailure.120.007947..
Keywords: Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Hospital Readmissions, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Mortality, Social Determinants of Health, Low-Income, Disparities
Joyce NR, Pfeiffer MR, Zullo AR
Individual and geographic variation in driver's license suspensions: evidence of disparities by race, ethnicity and income.
Using data from the New Jersey Safety Health Outcomes data warehouse 2004-2018, the authors compared characteristics of suspended drivers, their residential census tract, as well as access to public transportation and jobs, by reason for the suspension. They found that 91% of license suspensions were for non-driving-related events, with the most common reason for a suspension being failure to pay a fine. Non-driving-related suspended drivers lived in census tracts with a lower household median income, higher proportion of black and Hispanic residents and higher unemployment rates, but also better walkability scores and better access to public transportation and jobs. They recommended additional work to determine what effect this has for the social and economic well-being of suspended drivers.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Joyce NR, Pfeiffer MR, Zullo AR .
Individual and geographic variation in driver's license suspensions: evidence of disparities by race, ethnicity and income.
J Transp Health 2020 Dec;19. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2020.100933..
Keywords: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Low-Income, Vulnerable Populations, Social Determinants of Health
Roberts ET, Mehrotra A
Assessment of disparities in digital access among Medicare beneficiaries and implications for telemedicine.
In this study, the investigators examined disparities in digital access (ie, access at home to technology that enables video telemedicine visits) among Medicare beneficiaries by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The investigators concluded that the proportion of beneficiaries who lacked digital access was higher among those with low socioeconomic status, those 85 years or older, and in communities of color.
AHRQ-funded; HS026727.
Citation: Roberts ET, Mehrotra A .
Assessment of disparities in digital access among Medicare beneficiaries and implications for telemedicine.
JAMA Intern Med 2020 Oct;180(10):1386-89. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2020.2666..
Keywords: Elderly, Medicare, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Disparities, Access to Care, Social Determinants of Health, Low-Income, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Klawetter S, McNitt C, Hoffman JA
Perinatal depression in low-income women: a literature review and innovative screening approach.
This paper is a literature review of perinatal depression prevalence, consequences, and screening among low-income women and women of color. The Warm Connections program has an innovative perinatal depression screening protocol and was used with WIC participants. The literature showed mixed findings of perinatal prevalence among low-income women and women of color. There were lower perinatal depression rates in the Warm Connections program in studies using less specific perinatal depression screening instruments with similar samples.
AHRQ-funded; HS026370.
Citation: Klawetter S, McNitt C, Hoffman JA .
Perinatal depression in low-income women: a literature review and innovative screening approach.
Curr Psychiatry Rep 2020 Jan 7;22(1):1. doi: 10.1007/s11920-019-1126-9.
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Keywords: Depression, Pregnancy, Women, Low-Income, Social Determinants of Health, Screening, Behavioral Health, Maternal Care, Disparities, Diagnostic Safety and Quality
Bass AR, Mehta B, Szymonifka J
Racial disparities in total knee replacement failure as related to poverty.
The authors sought to determine whether racial disparities in total knee replacement (TKR) failure are explained by poverty. Linking New York state patients to residential census tracts by geocoded addresses, they found that there was a trend toward higher TKR revision risk in blacks, but poverty did not modify the relationship between race and TKR revision or failure.
AHRQ-funded; HS016075.
Citation: Bass AR, Mehta B, Szymonifka J .
Racial disparities in total knee replacement failure as related to poverty.
Arthritis Care Res 2019 Nov;71(11):1488-94. doi: 10.1002/acr.24028..
Keywords: Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Low-Income, Surgery, Orthopedics, Social Determinants of Health
Zullo AR, Adams JW, Gantenberg JR
Examining neighborhood poverty-based disparities in HIV/STI prevalence: an analysis of Add Health data.
The purpose of the study was to estimate the effect of exposure to neighborhood poverty in adolescence on HIV/STI prevalence in early adulthood. The investigators found that strong evidence for neighborhood poverty-based differences in HIV/STI prevalence was not observed. They suggest that researchers should continue to investigate the effect of neighborhood-level socioeconomic position measures and, if warranted, identify etiologically relevant exposure periods.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Zullo AR, Adams JW, Gantenberg JR .
Examining neighborhood poverty-based disparities in HIV/STI prevalence: an analysis of Add Health data.
Ann Epidemiol 2019 Nov;39:8-14.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2019.09.010..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Low-Income, Vulnerable Populations, Disparities, Social Determinants of Health, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Infectious Diseases, Young Adults, Health Status
Purnell TS, Luo X, Crews DC
Neighborhood poverty and sex differences in live donor kidney transplant outcomes in the United States.
Neighborhood poverty has been associated with worse outcomes after live donor kidney transplantation (LDKT), and prior work suggests that women with kidney disease may be more susceptible to the negative influence of poverty than men. As such, our goal was to examine whether poverty differentially affects women in influencing LDKT outcomes. The investigators concluded that given their findings that poverty was more strongly associated with graft loss in women, targeted efforts are needed to specifically address mechanisms driving these disparities in LDKT outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024600.
Citation: Purnell TS, Luo X, Crews DC .
Neighborhood poverty and sex differences in live donor kidney transplant outcomes in the United States.
Transplantation 2019 Oct;103(10):2183-89. doi: 10.1097/tp.0000000000002654.
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Keywords: Transplantation, Kidney Disease and Health, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Disparities, Women, Sex Factors, Low-Income, Outcomes
Heintzman J, Kaufmann J, Ezekiel-Herrera D
Asthma/COPD disparities in diagnosis and basic care utilization among low-income primary care patients.
Obstructive pulmonary disease outcomes in the United States differ between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites. There is little objective data about diagnosis prevalence and primary care visit frequency in these disease processes. In this study, the investigators used electronic health record data to perform a retrospective cohort analysis of 34,849 low-income patients seen at Oregon community health centers between 2009 and 2013 to assess joint racial/ethnic and insurance disparities in diagnosis and visit rates between Latino and non-Hispanic white patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS021522.
Citation: Heintzman J, Kaufmann J, Ezekiel-Herrera D .
Asthma/COPD disparities in diagnosis and basic care utilization among low-income primary care patients.
J Immigr Minor Health 2019 Jun;21(3):659-63. doi: 10.1007/s10903-018-0798-2..
Keywords: Asthma, Respiratory Conditions, Chronic Conditions, Disparities, Healthcare Utilization, Low-Income, Primary Care
Louisias M, Wright L, Phipatanakul W
Asthma in the melting pot.
This article highlights research advances related to asthma health disparities, and offers recommendations regarding innovative approaches to achieve equity and social justice for minority and low-income populations. Since traditional randomized controlled trials may not always be the most appropriate approach to health disparities research interventions, the authors suggest appropriate alternatives, such as the stepped-wedge design; or, because intervention trials are not always feasible, alternative analytic approaches such as mediation analysis or modeling could be used instead. Dissemination and implementation (D&I) research and the use of biomarkers to measure the social disadvantage impact of asthma outcomes are also discussed.
AHRQ-funded; HS022986.
Citation: Louisias M, Wright L, Phipatanakul W .
Asthma in the melting pot.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2019 Feb;122(2):136-39. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2018.11.009.
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Keywords: Asthma, Disparities, Respiratory Conditions, Low-Income, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Tung EL, Cagney KA, Peek ME
Spatial context and health inequity: reconfiguring race, place, and poverty.
The authors build on the Chicago School of Sociology's contributions in urban research and one of its contemporary elaborations, often described as the "neighborhood effects approach," to propose a three-axis model of health inequity. This model, in alignment with Chicago School theory, postulates a dynamic and adaptive relationship between spatial context and health inequity. Compositional axes of race and poverty form the foundation of the model.
AHRQ-funded; HS023007.
Citation: Tung EL, Cagney KA, Peek ME .
Spatial context and health inequity: reconfiguring race, place, and poverty.
J Urban Health 2017 Dec;94(6):757-63. doi: 10.1007/s11524-017-0210-x.
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Keywords: Disparities, Low-Income, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Social Determinants of Health, Urban Health
Xavier Moore J, Donnelly JP, Griffin R
Community characteristics and regional variations in sepsis.
This study aimed to determine the influence of community characteristics upon regional variations in sepsis incidence and case fatality. The study concluded that regional variations in sepsis incidence may be partly explained by community poverty. Other community characteristics do not explain regional variations in sepsis incidence or case fatality.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852.
Citation: Xavier Moore J, Donnelly JP, Griffin R .
Community characteristics and regional variations in sepsis.
Int J Epidemiol 2017 Oct 1;46(5):1607-17. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyx099..
Keywords: Disparities, Low-Income, Mortality, Sepsis, Social Determinants of Health
Beckman AL, Herrin J, Nasir K
Trends in cardiovascular health of US adults by income, 2005-2014.
This research letter discusses the trends in cardiovascular health of US adults by income from 2005-2014. The investigators assessed national trends in cardiovascular risk factors by income level among adults aged 25 years and older using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, a nationally representative, multistage probability sample of the US population, across 5 periods: 2005 to 2006, 2007 to 2008, 2009 to 2010, 2011 to 2012, and 2013 to 2014.
AHRQ-funded; HS023000.
Citation: Beckman AL, Herrin J, Nasir K .
Trends in cardiovascular health of US adults by income, 2005-2014.
JAMA Cardiol 2017 Jul;2(7):814-16. doi: 10.1001/jamacardio.2017.1654..
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Risk, Disparities, Health Status, Blood Pressure, Obesity, Diabetes, Low-Income, Tobacco Use
Heintzman J, Bailey SR, DeVoe J
In low-income Latino patients, post-affordable care act insurance disparities may be reduced even more than broader national estimates: evidence from Oregon.
This study compared the insurance status of low-income patients served in 23 community health centers (CHCs) in Oregon, by race/ethnicity and language, over a period of 6 years straddling the implementation of ACA-related Medicaid expansion in 2014. It found that among previously uninsured low-income patients returning to Oregon CHCs, insurance disparities were eliminated after Medicaid expansion, especially in Spanish-speaking Latinos.
AHRQ-funded; HS021522; HS024270.
Citation: Heintzman J, Bailey SR, DeVoe J .
In low-income Latino patients, post-affordable care act insurance disparities may be reduced even more than broader national estimates: evidence from Oregon.
J Racial Ethn Health Disparities 2017 Jun;4(3):329-36. doi: 10.1007/s40615-016-0232-1.
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Keywords: Disparities, Health Insurance, Policy, Low-Income, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Arora A, Spatz E, Herrin J
Population well-being measures help explain geographic disparities in life expectancy at the county level.
This study investigated whether population well-being - a comprehensive measure of physical, mental, and social health - helps explain geographic variation in life expectancy. At the county level, it found that for every 1-standard-deviation (4.2-point) increase in the well-being score, life expectancy was 1.9 years higher for females and 2.6 years higher for males.
AHRQ-funded; HS023000.
Citation: Arora A, Spatz E, Herrin J .
Population well-being measures help explain geographic disparities in life expectancy at the county level.
Health Aff 2016 Nov 01;35(11):2075-82. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0715.
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Keywords: Disparities, Health Status, Low-Income, Social Determinants of Health
Garcia Mosqueira A, Hua LM, Sommers BD
Racial differences in awareness of the Affordable Care Act and application assistance among low-income adults in three Southern states.
The researchers explored potential factors related to racial/ethnic differences in ACA enrollment - awareness of the law and receipt of application assistance such as navigator services. Their results highlight the importance of ACA outreach efforts to increase awareness among low-income and less educated populations to close existing disparities in coverage.
AHRQ-funded; HS021291.
Citation: Garcia Mosqueira A, Hua LM, Sommers BD .
Racial differences in awareness of the Affordable Care Act and application assistance among low-income adults in three Southern states.
Inquiry 2015 Oct 8;52. doi: 10.1177/0046958015609607.
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Keywords: Disparities, Health Insurance, Low-Income, Medicaid, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Higashi RT, Craddock Lee SJ, Leonard T
Multiple comorbidities and interest in research participation among clients of a nonprofit food distribution site.
The researchers sought to better understand the health needs of a nonclinical population to inform future research and interventions. Their analysis of focus group findings led them to conclude that Crossroads Community Services clients represent a high-need, under-reached population willing to engage in health-related research that affords them opportunity to connect with peers in group settings and obtain information to improve management of daily life challenges.
AHRQ-funded; HS022418.
Citation: Higashi RT, Craddock Lee SJ, Leonard T .
Multiple comorbidities and interest in research participation among clients of a nonprofit food distribution site.
Clin Transl Sci 2015 Oct;8(5):584-90. doi: 10.1111/cts.12325.
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Keywords: Nutrition, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities, Low-Income, Vulnerable Populations
McGarry BE, Strawderman RL, Li Y
Lower Hispanic participation in Medicare Part D may reflect program barriers.
This study found that Hispanics were 35 percent less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have Medicare Part D coverage. This difference may be driven by ethnic disparities among those eligible for the low-income Part D subsidy but not automatically enrolled in it.
AHRQ-funded; HS00044
Citation: McGarry BE, Strawderman RL, Li Y .
Lower Hispanic participation in Medicare Part D may reflect program barriers.
Health Aff. 2014 May;33(5):856-62. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2013.0671..
Keywords: Medicare, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Low-Income, Healthcare Costs