Table 14_1_5-5c

2009 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports

The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) is a comprehensive national overview of quality of health care in the United States. It is organized around four dimensions of quality of care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

Table 14_1_5.5c
Adults who had a doctor's office or clinic visit in the last 12 months whose health providers sometimes or never explained things in a way they could understand, by family income,^a United States, 2006
		Total		Negative/poor		Near poor/low		Middle		High
Population group		Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		8.2	0.3	13.2	1.0	12.0	0.8	9.6	0.6	5.1	0.4
Age	18–44	9.1	0.5	14.1	1.6	13.1	1.3	10.9	0.8	5.1	0.6
	45–64	7.6	0.4	12.6	1.8	13.2	1.3	9.1	0.9	5.2	0.5
	65 and over	7.4	0.6	11.5	1.9	9.6	1.3	7.6	1.2	4.8	0.9
Gender	Male	8.1	0.5	10.8	1.5	12.9	1.3	10.7	0.9	4.9	0.5
Gender	Female	8.3	0.4	14.4	1.2	11.4	1.0	8.9	0.8	5.3	0.5
Race	White, single race	7.8	0.4	13.1	1.2	11.4	0.9	9.3	0.6	4.9	0.4
	Black, single race	9.7	0.6	13.8	2.0	13.8	1.8	8.4	1.4	5.1	1.1
	Asian, single race	11.5	1.7	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	20.6	4.6	8.5	2.1
	NHOPI, single race	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
	AI/AN, single race	14.0	3.6	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
	Multiple races	10.3	3.1	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
Ethnicity	Non-Hispanic, all races	7.7	0.4	12.7	1.1	11.3	1.0	9.0	0.6	5.1	0.4
	Non-Hispanic, White	7.2	0.4	12.4	1.4	10.4	1.1	8.6	0.7	4.8	0.4
	Non-Hispanic, Black	9.6	0.6	13.6	2.0	13.8	1.9	8.4	1.4	5.1	1.1
	Hispanic, all races	13.1	0.9	15.7	2.1	15.9	1.7	14.4	1.8	5.9	1.3
Education^b	Less than high school	12.5	0.9	12.9	1.5	14.1	1.4	12.2	1.4	9.8	2.2
	High school graduate	9.5	0.6	13.9	1.9	12.5	1.3	10.8	0.9	5.3	0.7
	At least some college	6.3	0.4	12.2	1.8	9.6	1.2	7.9	0.8	4.6	0.4
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	8.0	0.4	13.8	1.9	12.8	1.3	10.4	0.8	5.0	0.4
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	10.2	0.8	13.4	1.4	13.7	1.6	9.0	1.4	6.0	1.3
Health insurance, ages 18–64	Any private	6.8	0.4	8.7	1.8	10.6	1.1	8.5	0.7	5.1	0.4
	Public only	15.8	1.3	15.5	1.8	15.7	1.8	19.0	3.4	DSU	DSU
	Uninsured	14.9	1.3	16.2	2.6	16.7	2.6	17.1	2.4	DSU	DSU
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	7.4	1.2	DSU	DSU	7.8	1.9	8.1	2.3	DSU	DSU
	Medicare and private	6.3	0.7	DSU	DSU	10.2	2.1	6.3	1.4	4.2	1.0
	Medicare and other public	13.4	1.7	14.0	2.9	12.7	2.8	DSU	DSU	DSU	DSU
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	8.3	0.4	13.6	1.2	12.1	1.0	10.0	0.7	5.2	0.4
	Large central metro	9.9	0.6	12.3	1.6	13.8	1.5	12.9	1.2	6.1	0.8
	Large fringe metro	7.8	0.7	14.6	2.9	14.2	2.6	10.1	1.4	4.8	0.7
	Medium metro	7.1	0.7	14.4	2.3	9.2	1.4	7.3	1.1	4.7	0.9
	Small metro	7.4	0.8	14.5	3.1	10.0	1.7	7.8	2.0	4.4	1.0
	Nonmetropolitan	7.9	0.7	11.7	1.8	11.4	1.5	8.1	1.2	4.7	0.9
	Micropolitan	8.1	0.6	11.8	2.0	12.7	2.2	9.1	1.4	4.4	0.9
	Noncore	7.5	1.3	11.3	3.3	9.8	2.0	6.5	1.6	DSU	DSU
Language spoken most often at home	English	7.8	0.3	12.9	1.1	11.5	0.9	9.1	0.6	4.9	0.4
Language spoken most often at home	Other	14.2	1.2	15.0	2.3	15.1	1.7	15.9	2.2	9.7	2.7
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	7.1	0.3	11.3	1.2	10.6	0.9	8.6	0.6	4.7	0.4
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	14.3	0.9	16.9	2.0	15.8	1.5	16.0	1.8	9.2	1.7
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	11.7	0.9	14.4	1.8	15.6	1.6	10.3	1.3	8.1	1.3
	Complex activities	13.5	1.2	17.0	2.2	16.8	2.1	12.0	1.8	7.6	2.1
	Neither basic nor complex activities	7.4	0.3	12.0	1.2	10.4	0.9	9.5	0.6	4.8	0.4

^a Negative/poor refers to household incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor/low, the poverty line to just below 200 percent of the poverty line; middle, 200 percent to just below 400 percent of the poverty line; and high, 400 percent of the poverty line and over.

^b Less than high school refers to fewer than 12 years of education; high school graduate, 12 years of education; and at least some college, more than 12 years of education.

^c For more information, see the MEPS entry in Appendix A, Data Sources.

DSU - Data do not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality.

Key: AI/AN: American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; SE: standard error.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Current as of March 2010

Internet Citation: Table 14_1_5-5c: 2009 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. March 2010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr09/14_patientcenteredness/T14_1_5-5c.html