Using Administrative Data To Monitor Access, Identify Disparities, and Assess Performance of the Safety Net: Figure 11

You Are Here: AHRQ Home > Data & Surveys > Safety Net Monitoring > Tools for Monitoring the Health Care Safety Net > Using Administrative Data To Monitor Access, Identify Disparities, and Assess Performance of the Safety Net

Figure 11. Preventable/Avoidable Emergency Department Use per 1,000 population by ZIP Code Area Income, Baltimore, Ages 0-17, 2000

Scatter diagram showing ZIP code areas, with Percent of Households With Incomes Less Than $15,000 on one axis and Emergency Department Visits per 1,000 Population on the other axis. Go to Text Description [D] for details.

Key: Each square represents a ZIP code area.

[D] Scatter diagram showing ZIP code areas, with Percent of Households With Incomes Less Than $15,000 on one axis and Emergency Department Visits per 1,000 Population on the other axis.

ZIP code-level analysis can also be revealing. Where data from all area hospitals are available, it is possible to create per capita ED use rates for the various ED classification categories (rather than percentage distributions among the categories). The data are dramatic. For example, in the Baltimore MSA, the association between "preventable/avoidable" ED use/1,000 and area income for children ages 0-17 was very strong (R² = .736) and even higher for adults (R² = .783) (Figures 11 and 12).

Return to Document