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 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedMyong C, Hull P, Price M
The impact of funding for federally qualified health centers on utilization and emergency department visits in Massachusetts.
This retrospective study examined the impact of funding for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) on utilization and emergency department (ED) visits in Massachusetts. The authors theorized that greater funding for FQHCs could increase the local availability of clinic-based care and reduce more costly resource use, such as ED visits. Data from the Massachusetts All Payer Claims Database (APCD) 2010-2013 was used that included enrollees in 559 Massachusetts ZIP codes (2010 numbers 6,173,563). They calculated shift-share predictions of changes in FQHC funding at the ZIP code-level for FQHCs that received Community Health Center funds in any year. They found that a standard deviation increase in prior year FQHC funding (31%) was associated with a 2.3% increase in enrollees with FQHC visits and a 1.3% decrease in enrollees at EDs. However, there were no significant changes in emergent ED visit rates.
AHRQ-funded; HS025378.
Citation: Myong C, Hull P, Price M .
The impact of funding for federally qualified health centers on utilization and emergency department visits in Massachusetts.
PLoS One 2020 Dec 3;15(12):e0243279. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243279..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Healthcare Utilization, Emergency Department, Healthcare Costs, Access to Care, Vulnerable Populations, Policy
Rosenberg J, Rosenthal MS, Cramer LD
Disparities in mental and behavioral health treatment for children and youth in immigrant families.
Children and youth in immigrant families (CIF)-children and youth with at least one foreign-born parent-face unique psychosocial stressors. Yet little is known about access to mental/behavioral health (MBH) services for CIF. Among US CIF and non-CIF with MBH problems, the authors assessed access to MBH treatment using the National Survey of Children's Health-2016, a nationally-representative survey of predominantly English- or Spanish-speaking US parents.
AHRQ-funded; HS024332.
Citation: Rosenberg J, Rosenthal MS, Cramer LD .
Disparities in mental and behavioral health treatment for children and youth in immigrant families.
Acad Pediatr 2020 Nov-Dec;20(8):1148-56. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2020.06.013..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Behavioral Health, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Vulnerable Populations, Access to Care
Desai AD, Zhou C, Haaland W
Social disadvantage, access to care, and disparities in physical functioning among children hospitalized with respiratory illness.
This study examined associations between social disadvantage, access to care, and disparities in physical functioning among children hospitalized with acute respiratory illness. The study cohort included children ages 8-16 years and/or caregivers of children 2 weeks to 16 years admitted to five tertiary care children’s hospitals for three common respiratory illnesses from July 2014 through June 2016. Surveys were completed within 2 to 8 weeks after discharge. The survey assessed social disadvantage, difficulty/delays accessing care, and baseline and follow-up health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and physical functioning using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). A total of 1,325 patients and/or their caregivers completed both PedsQL surveys. Adjusted mean baseline PedsQL scores were significantly lower for patients with social disadvantage (minority race/ethnicity, limited English proficiency, low education, and low income), than for patients with none. There were also disadvantage markers or difficulty/delays accessing care which were associated with lower physical functioning. However, these differences were reduced after hospital discharge.
AHRQ-funded; HS024299.
Citation: Desai AD, Zhou C, Haaland W .
Social disadvantage, access to care, and disparities in physical functioning among children hospitalized with respiratory illness.
J Hosp Med 2020 Apr;15(4):211-18. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3359..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Respiratory Conditions, Hospitalization, Access to Care, Disparities, Vulnerable Populations, Quality of Life
Ellis RJ, Schlick CJR, Feinglass J
Failure to administer recommended chemotherapy: acceptable variation or cancer care quality blind spot?
This study examined hospital variation in cancer patients who did not receive recommended chemotherapy. Patients with breast, colon, and lung cancers who did not receive chemotherapy from 2000 to 2015 were identified from the National Cancer Database. A total of 183,148 patients at 1281 hospitals were included. For breast cancer, 3.5% of patients failed to receive recommended chemotherapy, and 6.6% with colon, and 10.7% with lung cancer. Sociodemographic factors showed that patients were less likely to receive chemotherapy if they were uninsured or on Medicaid, as were non-Hispanic black patients with both breast and colon cancer. There was also significant hospital variation with failure to administer as high as 21.8% for breast, 40.2% for colon, and 40.0% for lung cancer.
AHRQ-funded; HS000078; HS026385.
Citation: Ellis RJ, Schlick CJR, Feinglass J .
Failure to administer recommended chemotherapy: acceptable variation or cancer care quality blind spot?
BMJ Qual Saf 2020 Feb;29(2):103-12. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2019-009742..
Keywords: Treatments, Cancer, Healthcare Delivery, Access to Care, Healthcare Utilization, Social Determinants of Health, Vulnerable Populations, Uninsured, Hospitals, Quality of Care
Beckman AL, Bilinski A, Boyko R
New hepatitis C drugs are very costly and unavailable to many state prisoners.
This study found that in the forty-one states whose departments of corrections reported data, 106,266 inmates (10 percent of their prisoners) were known to have hepatitis C on or about January 1, 2015. Only 949 of those inmates were being treated. Prices for a twelve-week course of direct-acting antivirals such as sofosbuvir and the combination drug ledipasvir/sofosbuvir varied widely as of September 30, 2015 ($43,418-$84,000 and $44,421-$94,500, respectively).
AHRQ-funded; HS000055.
Citation: Beckman AL, Bilinski A, Boyko R .
New hepatitis C drugs are very costly and unavailable to many state prisoners.
Health Aff 2016 Oct;35(10):1893-901. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0296.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Healthcare Costs, Hepatitis, Medication, Vulnerable Populations
Figueiredo R, Dempster L, Quinonez C
Emergency department use for dental problems among homeless individuals: a population-based cohort study.
The researchers evaluated emergency department (ED) visits for dental problems among Toronto's homeless population (Ontario, Canada). They found that over 80% of the ED visits by homeless people were for odontogenic infections, and 46% of homeless people had more than one such visit. They concluded that access to dental care is inadequate and that ED settings are ineffective for treatment of dental problems.
AHRQ-funded; HS014129.
Citation: Figueiredo R, Dempster L, Quinonez C .
Emergency department use for dental problems among homeless individuals: a population-based cohort study.
J Health Care Poor Underserved 2016;27(2):860-8. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2016.0081.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Dental and Oral Health, Emergency Department, Vulnerable Populations
Weintraub JA, Burgette JM, Chadwick DG
Educating North Carolina's oral health workforce in an evolving environment.
In 2014, North Carolina had 4,681 actively practicing dentists and ranked 47th among US states in dentist-to-population ratio. The need for dentists is increasing as the population grows, and underserved areas persist. This commentary discusses the impact of the state's 2 dental schools and external factors on dental workforce trends.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Weintraub JA, Burgette JM, Chadwick DG .
Educating North Carolina's oral health workforce in an evolving environment.
N C Med J 2016 Mar-Apr;77(2):107-11. doi: 10.18043/ncm.77.2.107..
Keywords: Dental and Oral Health, Education, Access to Care, Rural Health, Vulnerable Populations
Moy E, Freeman W
AHRQ Author: Moy E, Freeman W
Federal investments to eliminate racial/ethnic health-care disparities.
The authors presented a model that describes the relationships among social disadvantage, health-care disparities, and health disparities. They proposed that increasing the diversity of the public health and health-care workforces is an efficient strategy for reducing disparities because it impacts both access to care and patient-provider communication.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Moy E, Freeman W .
Federal investments to eliminate racial/ethnic health-care disparities.
Public Health Rep 2014 Jan-Feb;129 Suppl 2:62-70. doi: 10.1177/00333549141291s212.
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Keywords: Access to Care, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Social Determinants of Health, Vulnerable Populations