National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Access to Care (3)
- Cancer (1)
- Cardiovascular Conditions (1)
- Children/Adolescents (2)
- Community-Based Practice (1)
- Depression (1)
- Disparities (2)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Healthcare Costs (2)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Healthcare Utilization (4)
- Health Insurance (2)
- Heart Disease and Health (1)
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (1)
- Medicaid (1)
- (-) Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) (13)
- Medicare (1)
- Medication (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Patient Adherence/Compliance (1)
- Policy (1)
- (-) Prevention (13)
- Primary Care (2)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
- Screening (2)
- Social Determinants of Health (3)
- Women (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 13 of 13 Research Studies DisplayedJacobs PD, Abdus S
AHRQ Author: Jacobs PD, Abdus S
Changes in preventive service use by race and ethnicity after Medicare eligibility in the United States.
Researchers examined whether widespread eligibility for Medicare at age 65 narrows disparate preventive service use by race and ethnicity. Using MEPS data and examining six preventive services, they found that, for non-Hispanic Black adults, preventive service use increased after age 65. Further, for all four preventive health measures that were lower for Hispanic adults compared with non-Hispanic White adults prior to age 65, service use was indistinguishable between these groups after reaching the Medicare eligibility age. They concluded that Medicare eligibility appeared to reduce most racial and ethnic disparities in preventive service use.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Jacobs PD, Abdus S .
Changes in preventive service use by race and ethnicity after Medicare eligibility in the United States.
Prev Med 2022 Apr;157:106996. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.106996..
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Medicare, Prevention, Access to Care, Disparities, Health Insurance
Abdus S
AHRQ Author: Abdus S
Trends in differences across subgroups of adults in preventive services utilization.
This study examines whether preventive services utilization changed over time, across subgroups of adults defined by race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, poverty status, Census region, and urbanicity. Using MEPS data and examining general checkups, blood cholesterol screening, mammograms, and colorectal cancer screening, findings showed modest increases in utilization between 2008/2009 and 2015/2016 for blood cholesterol and colorectal cancer screenings. Large gaps in utilization across income groups and between those with and without coverage persisted. Disparities across racial/ethnic groups in general checkups persisted over time as well.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Abdus S .
Trends in differences across subgroups of adults in preventive services utilization.
Med Care 2021 Dec;59(12):1059-66. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001634..
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Healthcare Utilization, Prevention
Hill SC, Zuvekas SH
AHRQ Author: Hill SC, Zuvekas SH
Patient-centered medical homes and pediatric preventive counseling.
The authors sought to measure pediatric preventive counseling at patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) compared with practices that reported undertaking some or no quality-related activities. Using MEPS data, they found that PCMHs were associated with substantially greater receipt of pediatric preventive counseling. They recommended that evaluations of PCMHs account for the quality-related activities of comparison practices.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Hill SC, Zuvekas SH .
Patient-centered medical homes and pediatric preventive counseling.
Acad Pediatr 2021 Apr 1;21(3):488-96. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2020.07.001..
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Children/Adolescents, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Prevention
Hill SC, Abdus S
AHRQ Author: Hill SC Abdus S
The effects of Medicaid on access to care and adherence to recommended preventive services.
Using MEPS data, the authors sought to quantify the impact of Medicaid enrollment on access to care and adherence to recommended preventive services. They found that Medicaid enrollment decreased the probability of having unmet needs for medical care and of experiencing delays getting prescription drugs. Medicaid enrollment increased the probability of having a usual source of care, of having a routine checkup, and of having a flu shot in past year.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Hill SC, Abdus S .
The effects of Medicaid on access to care and adherence to recommended preventive services.
Health Serv Res 2021 Feb;56(1):84-94. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.13603..
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Medicaid, Access to Care, Prevention, Patient Adherence/Compliance
Ngo-Metzger Q, Zuvekas S, Shafer P
AHRQ Author: Ngo-Metzger Q, Zuvekas S, Shafer P, Tracer H, Borsky AE, Bierman AS
Ngo-Metzger Q, Zuvekas S, Shafer P, Tracer H, Borsky AE, Bierman AS. Statin use in the U.S. for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease remains suboptimal.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) remains the leading cause of mortality in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the rates of statin use for secondary prevention of ASCVD events in the United States over the last decade and determine whether disparities in the treatment of ASCVD still persist among women and racial/ethnic minorities.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Ngo-Metzger Q, Zuvekas S, Shafer P .
Ngo-Metzger Q, Zuvekas S, Shafer P, Tracer H, Borsky AE, Bierman AS. Statin use in the U.S. for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease remains suboptimal.
J Am Board Fam Med 2019 Nov-Dec;32(6):807-17. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2019.06.180313..
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Cardiovascular Conditions, Medication, Healthcare Utilization, Prevention, Heart Disease and Health, Disparities
Borsky A, Zhan C, Miller T
AHRQ Author: Borsky A, Zhan C, Miller T, Ngo-Metzger Q, Bierman AS, Meyers D
Few Americans receive all high-priority, appropriate clinical preventive services.
As of 2015, only 8 percent of US adults ages thirty-five and older had received all of the high-priority, appropriate clinical preventive services recommended for them. Nearly 5 percent of adults did not receive any such services. Further delivery system-level efforts are needed to increase the use of preventive services.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Borsky A, Zhan C, Miller T .
Few Americans receive all high-priority, appropriate clinical preventive services.
Health Aff 2018 Jun;37(6):925-28. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1248.
.
.
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Primary Care
Kato E, Borsky AE, Zuvekas SH
AHRQ Author: Kato E, Borsky AE, Zuvekas SH, Soni A, Ngo-Metzger Q
Missed opportunities for depression screening and treatment in the United States.
This study estimates the prevalence of depression assessment in adults age 35 and older and how prevalence varies by sociodemographic characteristics and depressive symptoms. It found that approximately 50 percent of US adults aged 35+ were being assessed for depression in 2014-2015. Certain populations were more likely to be missed, including men, people over 75 years old, minorities, and the uninsured.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Kato E, Borsky AE, Zuvekas SH .
Missed opportunities for depression screening and treatment in the United States.
J Am Board Fam Med 2018 May-Jun;31(3):389-97. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2018.03.170406.
.
.
Keywords: Depression, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Screening, Social Determinants of Health
Kirby JB, Davidoff AJ, Basu J
AHRQ Author: Kirby JB, Basu J
The ACA's zero cost-sharing mandate and trends in out-of-pocket expenditures on well-child and screening mammography visits.
This study used a nationally representative sample of ambulatory care visits to estimate the impact of the zero cost-sharing mandate on out-of-pocket expenditures on well-child and screening mammography visits. It concluded that the Affordable Care Act's zero cost-sharing mandate for preventive care has had a large impact on out-of-pocket expenditures for well-child and mammography visits.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Kirby JB, Davidoff AJ, Basu J .
The ACA's zero cost-sharing mandate and trends in out-of-pocket expenditures on well-child and screening mammography visits.
Med Care 2016 Dec;54(12):1056-62. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000610.
.
.
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Healthcare Costs, Screening, Women, Policy, Prevention
Schackman BR, Fleishman JA, Su AE
AHRQ Author: Fleishman JA
The lifetime medical cost savings from preventing HIV in the United States.
The researchers sought to estimate the medical cost saved by averting 1 HIV infection in the United States. They found that the estimated discounted lifetime cost for persons who become HIV infected at age 35 is $326,500 (60% for antiretroviral medications, 15% for other medications, 25% nondrug costs.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201100007C.
Citation: Schackman BR, Fleishman JA, Su AE .
The lifetime medical cost savings from preventing HIV in the United States.
Med Care 2015 Apr;53(4):293-301. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000308..
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Healthcare Costs, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Prevention
Laiteerapong N, Kirby J, Gao Y
AHRQ Author: Kirby J, Ngo-Metzger Q
Health care utilization and receipt of preventive care for patients seen at federally funded health centers compared to other sites of primary care.
The investigators compared utilization and preventive care receipt among patients of federal Section 330 health centers (HCs) versus patients of other settings. They found that HC patients had fewer office visits and hospitalizations, were more likely to receive breast cancer screening, had fewer outpatient and emergency room visits, and were more likely to receive dietary advice compared to non-HC patients.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Laiteerapong N, Kirby J, Gao Y .
Health care utilization and receipt of preventive care for patients seen at federally funded health centers compared to other sites of primary care.
Health Serv Res 2014 Oct;49(5):1498-518. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12178.
.
.
Keywords: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Healthcare Utilization, Prevention, Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Delivery
Abdus S, Selden TM
AHRQ Author: Abdus S, Selden TM
Preventive services for adults: how have differences across subgroups changed over the past decade?
This study uses MEPS data to track changes over time in the distribution of preventive services use across groups defined by poverty status, race/ethnicity, insurance coverage, Census region, and urbanicity. The analysis found that differences across subgroups tended to persist over time, with some of the largest gaps between adults with and without coverage. Regional differences persisted or widened over the study period.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Abdus S, Selden TM .
Preventive services for adults: how have differences across subgroups changed over the past decade?
Med Care 2013 Nov;51(11):999-1007. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0b013e3182a97bc0.
.
.
Keywords: Healthcare Utilization, Health Insurance, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Social Determinants of Health
Robin Yabroff K, Short PF, Machlin S
AHRQ Author: Machlin S
Access to preventive health care for cancer survivors.
The researchers evaluated the association between cancer survivorship and access to primary and preventive health care. They concluded that, although access and preventive care use in cancer survivors is generally equivalent or greater compared to that of other individuals, disparities for uninsured and publicly insured cancer survivors aged 18-64 years suggest that improvements in survivor care are needed.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Robin Yabroff K, Short PF, Machlin S .
Access to preventive health care for cancer survivors.
Am J Prev Med 2013 Sep;45(3):304-12. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.04.021.
.
.
Keywords: Access to Care, Cancer, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Primary Care
Abdus S, Selden TM
AHRQ Author: Abdus S, Selden TM
Adherence with recommended well-child visits has grown, but large gaps persist among various socioeconomic groups.
Using MEPS data, the authors examined trends in well-child visit adherence and whether differences across population subgroups narrowed or widened over time. They found that the ratio of actual to recommended visits rose, with large differences in adherence at the start of the study period across income, race or ethnicity, parent education, region, insurance coverage, and having a usual source of care. None of these differences had narrowed significantly by the end of the study period, and differences widened across parent education, between those with and without insurance coverage, by usual source of care, and between the Northeast and the Midwest and West regions.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Abdus S, Selden TM .
Adherence with recommended well-child visits has grown, but large gaps persist among various socioeconomic groups.
Health Aff 2013 Mar;32(3):508-15. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.0691.
.
.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), Prevention, Social Determinants of Health