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
- Alcohol Use (1)
- Cancer (1)
- Cancer: Prostate Cancer (1)
- Community-Based Practice (1)
- COVID-19 (1)
- Disparities (1)
- Education: Patient and Caregiver (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (1)
- Health Promotion (1)
- Health Status (1)
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (1)
- Men's Health (1)
- Mortality (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (1)
- Prevention (1)
- Primary Care (1)
- (-) Racial and Ethnic Minorities (6)
- Screening (1)
- Substance Abuse (1)
- Surgery (1)
- 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 6 of 6 Research Studies DisplayedFeyman Y, Avila CJ, Auty S
Racial and ethnic disparities in excess mortality among U.S. veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study examined whether minority veterans experienced higher rates of all-cause mortality than White veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors used administrative data from the Veterans Health Administration’s Corporate Data Warehouse. Veterans were excluded in the analysis if they were missing county of residence or race-ethnicity data. Overall, veteran mortality rates were 16% above normal during March-December 2020 which equates to 42,348 excess deaths. Non-Hispanic White veterans experienced the smallest relative increase in mortality (17%), while Native American veterans had the highest increase (40%). Black Veterans (32%) and Hispanic Veterans (26%) had somewhat lower excess mortality, although these changes were significantly higher compared to White veterans. Disparities were smaller compared to the general population.
AHRQ-funded; HS026395.
Citation: Feyman Y, Avila CJ, Auty S .
Racial and ethnic disparities in excess mortality among U.S. veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health Serv Res 2023 Jun; 58(3):642-53. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14112..
Keywords: COVID-19, Mortality, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Disparities
Danan ER, White KM, Wilt TJ
Reactions to recommendations and evidence about prostate cancer screening among White and Black male veterans.
This study looked at differences in attitudes about recommendations and evidence on prostate cancer screening among White and Black male veterans. The authors provided a draft educational pamphlet about the benefits and harms of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening to 44 men, ages 55-81 at a midwestern VA medical center in 2013 and 2015. The groups were divided into four White and two Black focus groups. Three universal themes were low baseline familiarity with prostate cancer, surprise and resistance to the guidelines not to test routinely, and negative emotions in response to ambiguity. Discussions in the White groups highlighted the potential benefits of screening, minimized the harms, and emphasized personal choice in screening decisions. Discussions in Black groups devoted almost no time to benefits, considered harms significant, and emphasized personal and collective responsibility for cancer prevention through diet, exercise, and alternative medicine. Discussion in Black groups also emphasized the history of racism and discrimination in healthcare and medical research.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379.
Citation: Danan ER, White KM, Wilt TJ .
Reactions to recommendations and evidence about prostate cancer screening among White and Black male veterans.
Am J Mens Health 2021 May-Jun;15(3):15579883211022110. doi: 10.1177/15579883211022110..
Keywords: Cancer: Prostate Cancer, Cancer, Screening, Prevention, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Evidence-Based Practice, Health Promotion, Education: Patient and Caregiver
Bossick AS, Katon JG, Gray KE
Concomitant bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at hysterectomy: differences by race and menopausal status in the Veterans Affairs health care system, 2007-2014.
This study compared race and menopausal status differences in the rate of concomitant bilateral salphino-oopherectomy (BSO) at hysterectomy in the Veterans Affairs health care system from 2007-2014. The authors identified 6,785 Veterans who underwent a hysterectomy, including 2,230 with concomitant BSO. After adjustment premenopausal Black Veterans had 41% lower odds of going through BSO than their White counterparts. There was insufficient evidence in postmenopausal Veterans. Black Veterans were more likely to be single, obese, and undergo abdominal hysterectomy.
AHRQ-funded; HS013853.
Citation: Bossick AS, Katon JG, Gray KE .
Concomitant bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy at hysterectomy: differences by race and menopausal status in the Veterans Affairs health care system, 2007-2014.
J Womens Health 2020 Dec;29(12):1513-19. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2020.8503..
Keywords: Surgery, Women, Racial and Ethnic Minorities
McKellar MS, Kuchibhatla MN, Oursler KAK
Racial differences in change in physical functioning in older male veterans with HIV.
Little is known about longitudinal change in physical functioning of older African American/Black and White HIV-infected persons. In this study, the investigators examined up to 10 years of data on African American and White men with HIV infection and comparable HIV-negative men age 50-91 years from the Veterans Aging Cohort Study Survey sample.
AHRQ-funded; HS021112; HS023464; HS023258.
Citation: McKellar MS, Kuchibhatla MN, Oursler KAK .
Racial differences in change in physical functioning in older male veterans with HIV.
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2019 Nov/Dec;35(11-12):1034-43. doi: 10.1089/aid.2018.0296..
Keywords: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Health Status, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Elderly, Men's Health
Bensley KM, Harris AH, Gupta S
Racial/ethnic differences in initiation of and engagement with addictions treatment among patients with alcohol use disorders in the Veterans Health Administration.
In this study, the researchers investigated racial/ethnic variation in initiation of and engagement with specialty addictions treatment in a national sample of Black, Hispanic, and White patients with clinically recognized alcohol use disorders (AUD) from the US Veterans Health Administration (VA). The investigators found, after accounting for facility- and patient-level characteristics, Black and Hispanic patients with AUD were more likely than Whites to initiate specialty addictions treatment, and Black patients were more likely than Whites to engage.
AHRQ-funded; HS013853.
Citation: Bensley KM, Harris AH, Gupta S .
Racial/ethnic differences in initiation of and engagement with addictions treatment among patients with alcohol use disorders in the Veterans Health Administration.
J Subst Abuse Treat 2017 Feb;73:27-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2016.11.001..
Keywords: Alcohol Use, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Substance Abuse
Hernandez SE, Taylor L, Grembowski D
A first look at PCMH implementation for minority veterans: room for improvement.
The researchers sought to determine if the degree of Patient Aligned Care Teams (a patient-centered medical home model), implementation at Veterans Health Administration hospital-based and community-based primary care facilities varied with the percentage of minority veteran patients at each facility. They found that overall implementation of the care teams varied with respect to the racial/ethnic composition of a facility, with medium and high minority facilities having lower implementation scores.
AHRQ-funded; HS013853; HS023376.
Citation: Hernandez SE, Taylor L, Grembowski D .
A first look at PCMH implementation for minority veterans: room for improvement.
Med Care 2016 Mar;54(3):253-61. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000512.
.
.
Keywords: Patient-Centered Healthcare, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Community-Based Practice, Primary Care