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 (1)
- Cancer (4)
- Cancer: Lung Cancer (1)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Community-Based Practice (1)
- Cultural Competence (1)
- (-) Disparities (7)
- Elderly (1)
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) (1)
- Healthcare Costs (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (2)
- Healthcare Utilization (3)
- Hospitalization (1)
- Implementation (1)
- Inpatient Care (1)
- Medication (1)
- (-) Palliative Care (7)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (2)
- Practice Patterns (1)
- Quality of Care (1)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (5)
- Sex Factors (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 7 of 7 Research Studies DisplayedJin MC, Hsin G, Ratliff J
Modifiers of and disparities in palliative and supportive care timing and utilization among neurosurgical patients with malignant central nervous system tumors.
This study analyzed a cohort of privately insured patients with malignant brain or spinal tumors derived from the Optum Clinformatics Datamart Database to investigate health disparities and access and utilization of palliative care and supportive services. The authors introduced a novel construct, “provider patient racial diversity index” (provider pRDI) which is a measure of the proportion of non-white minority patients a provider encounters to approximate a provider's patient demographics and suggest a provider's cultural sensitivity and exposure to diversity. Their analysis demonstrated low rates of palliative care, home health, and social work services among racial minority patients, with Hispanics having the lowest likelihood of engagement with all three categories of supportive services. Patients who saw providers categorized into high provider pRDI (categories II and III) were increasingly more likely to interface with supportive care services and at an earlier point in their disease courses.
AHRQ-funded; HS028747.
Citation: Jin MC, Hsin G, Ratliff J .
Modifiers of and disparities in palliative and supportive care timing and utilization among neurosurgical patients with malignant central nervous system tumors.
Cancers 2022 May 23;14(10). doi: 10.3390/cancers14102567..
Keywords: Palliative Care, Disparities, Cancer
Lee K, Gani F, Canner JK
Racial disparities in utilization of palliative care among patients admitted with advanced solid organ malignancies.
The primary objective of this study was to describe racial differences in the use of inpatient palliative care consultations (IPCC) for patients with advanced cancer who are admitted to a hospital in the United States. Hospital admissions of patients with advanced cancers were identified through the National Inpatient Dataset. Findings showed that death during hospitalization was a significant modifier of the relationship between race and receipt of palliative care consultation. There were significant racial disparities in the utilization of IPCC for patients with advanced cancer.
AHRQ-funded; HS024736.
Citation: Lee K, Gani F, Canner JK .
Racial disparities in utilization of palliative care among patients admitted with advanced solid organ malignancies.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2021 Jun;38(6):539-46. doi: 10.1177/1049909120922779..
Keywords: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Palliative Care, Cancer, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Healthcare Utilization, Inpatient Care, Chronic Conditions
Kubi B, Enumah ZO, Lee KT
Theory-based development of an implementation intervention using community health workers to increase palliative care use.
This study used the Behavior Change Wheel and Theoretical Domains Framework models to help design an implementation intervention using community health workers (CHWs) to increase palliative care use in African American communities. There were two phases to the study. In Phase 1, focus group sessions were conducted to identify barriers and facilitators of palliative care use. Phase 2 consisted of a stakeholder meeting to select intervention content and prioritize modes of delivery after applying the framework. There were 15 stakeholders total that participated in the study. Interventions identified were designed to improve patient capability and motivation, physician capability and motivation, and increase patient opportunities to use palliative care services. The strategies were all facilitated by CHWs and included creation and dissemination of brochures, empowerment and activation of patients to initiate goals-of-care discussions, outreach to community churches, and expanding patient social support.
AHRQ-funded; HS024736.
Citation: Kubi B, Enumah ZO, Lee KT .
Theory-based development of an implementation intervention using community health workers to increase palliative care use.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2020 Jul;60(1):10-19. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2020.02.009..
Keywords: Community-Based Practice, Palliative Care, Healthcare Utilization, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Implementation, Disparities, Healthcare Delivery
Johnston FM, Neiman JH, Parmley LE
Stakeholder perspectives on the use of community health workers to improve palliative care use by African Americans with cancer.
This study focused on the issue of lack of palliative care for African-Americans with cancer. Stakeholder interviews and focus groups were conducted with cancer patients, caregivers, health care administrators, oncologists, and community health workers (CHWs). Participants felt that CHWs could play a central role in bridging patients with their providers, information and resources. They also felt that CHWs should either come from the community, or be familiar with the history, culture, and norms of the communities from which they operate.
AHRQ-funded; HS024736.
Citation: Johnston FM, Neiman JH, Parmley LE .
Stakeholder perspectives on the use of community health workers to improve palliative care use by African Americans with cancer.
J Palliat Med 2019 Mar;22(3):302-06. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2018.0366..
Keywords: Access to Care, Cancer, Healthcare Delivery, Healthcare Utilization, Cultural Competence, Disparities, Palliative Care, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Kamal AH, Bull J, Wolf SP
Unmet needs of African Americans and whites at the time of palliative care consultation.
Researchers aimed to compare characteristics and palliative care needs of African Americans (AAs) and whites during initial palliative care consultation. Nearly two-thirds in both racial groups reported 3 or more symptoms of any severity; one-third reported 3 or more moderate or severe symptoms. A larger proportion of Africans than whites reported pain of any severity.
AHRQ-funded; HS023681; HS022763.
Citation: Kamal AH, Bull J, Wolf SP .
Unmet needs of African Americans and whites at the time of palliative care consultation.
Am J Hosp Palliat Care 2017 Jun;34(5):461-65. doi: 10.1177/1049909116632508.
.
.
Keywords: Disparities, Quality of Care, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Just E, Casarett DJ, Asch DA
Differences in terminal hospitalization care between U.S. men and women.
The authors sought to determine whether men and women receive different care during terminal hospitalizations by examining sex-based differences in lengths of stay, resuscitation status, and intensive interventions and processes of care. They found that. compared with men, women had slightly shorter hospitalizations and were more likely to have a do-not-resuscitate order. Women remained less likely to receive care in an intensive care unit, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, hemodialysis, or surgical procedures. The researchers concluded that men who die in hospitals receive more aggressive care than women.
AHRQ-funded; HS018425.
Citation: Just E, Casarett DJ, Asch DA .
Differences in terminal hospitalization care between U.S. men and women.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2016 Aug;52(2):205-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2016.01.013.
.
.
Keywords: Disparities, Palliative Care, Hospitalization, Sex Factors, Elderly
Du XL, Parikh RC, Lairson DR
Racial and geographic disparities in the patterns of care and costs at the end of life for patients with lung cancer in 2007-2010 after the 2006 introduction of bevacizumab.
The authors examined racial/ethnic and geographical disparities in cancer care and costs during the last 6 months of life for lung cancer decedents after the FDA's approval of bevacizumab. They found that there were substantial racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in the types of cancer care and costs in the last 6 months of life among lung cancer decedents, regardless of the length of survival times and hospice care status.
AHRQ-funded; HS018956.
Citation: Du XL, Parikh RC, Lairson DR .
Racial and geographic disparities in the patterns of care and costs at the end of life for patients with lung cancer in 2007-2010 after the 2006 introduction of bevacizumab.
Lung Cancer 2015 Dec;90(3):442-50. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2015.09.017.
.
.
Keywords: Cancer, Cancer: Lung Cancer, Disparities, Healthcare Costs, Medication, Palliative Care, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Practice Patterns, Racial and Ethnic Minorities