TABLE 1—
Characteristic | All Participants (n = 247), No. (%) or Mean (Range) | No Predetainment Acute Care Usea (n = 119; 48%), No. (%) or Mean (Range) | Predetainment Acute Care Use (n = 128; 52%), No. (%) or Mean (Range) | P | No Anticipated Acute Care Useb (n = 132; 53%), No. (%) or Mean (Range) | Anticipated Acute Care Use (n = 115; 47%), No. (%) or Mean (Range) | P |
Age, yc | 59 (55–75) | 59 (55–75) | 59 (55–70) | .91 | 60 (55–75) | 59 (55–68) | .13 |
Other sociodemographics | |||||||
Age 55–64 y | 221 (90) | 106 (89) | 115 (90) | .84 | 115 (87) | 106 (92) | .2 |
Race/ethnicity | |||||||
Black | 155 (63) | 74 (62) | 81 (63) | .66 | 87 (66) | 68 (59) | .73 |
White, non-Latino | 50 (20) | 21 (18) | 29 (23) | 24 (18) | 26 (23) | ||
Latino | 22 (9) | 12 (10) | 10 (8) | 12 (9) | 10 (9) | ||
Asian/Pacific Islander | 14 (6) | 8 (7) | 6 (5) | 7 (5) | 7 (6) | ||
Female | 12 (5) | 4 (3) | 8 (6) | .38 | 9 (7) | 3 (3) | .15 |
Annual income < $15 000 | 197 (80) | 93 (78) | 109 (85) | .15 | 107 (81) | 95 (83) | .91 |
High school, GED, or more | 183 (74) | 91 (76) | 92 (72) | .41 | 97 (73) | 86 (75) | .82 |
Health conditionsd | |||||||
Self-rated health status | |||||||
Poor or fair | 129 (52) | 53 (44) | 77 (60) | 71 (53) | 59 (51) | ||
Good, very good, or excellent | 117 (48) | 66 (56) | 51 (40) | .016 | 61 (47) | 56 (49) | .738 |
Hypertension | 154 (62) | 76 (64) | 80 (62) | .83 | 92 (70) | 63 (55) | .01 |
Diabetes | 42 (17) | 22 (18) | 20 (16) | .55 | 25 (19) | 17 (15) | .39 |
Heart attack or coronary disease | 49 (20) | 18 (15) | 31 (24) | .07 | 30 (23) | 19 (17) | .22 |
Congestive heart failure | 17 (7) | 4 (3) | 13 (10) | .04 | 12 (9) | 5 (4) | .11 |
Stroke | 25 (10) | 10 (8) | 15 (12) | .39 | 16 (12) | 9 (8) | .26 |
Cancere | 18 (7) | 5 (4) | 13 (10) | .07 | 9 (7) | 9 (8) | .76 |
Chronic lung disease | 39 (16) | 18 (15) | 21 (17) | .76 | 25 (19) | 14 (12) | .14 |
HIV/AIDS | 13 (5) | 5 (4) | 8 (6) | .46 | 4 (3) | 9 (8) | .15 |
Hepatitis C | 121 (49) | 53 (45) | 69 (54) | .18 | 67 (51) | 55 (48) | .64 |
Alzheimer’s, dementia, senilityf | 24 (10) | 8 (7) | 16 (13) | .12 | 16 (12) | 8 (7) | .18 |
Arthritis or rheumatism | 124 (50) | 61 (51) | 63 (50) | .13 | 65 (49) | 60 (52) | .69 |
≥ 3 chronic conditions | 116 (47) | 50 (42) | 66 (52) | .13 | 68 (52) | 48 (42) | .13 |
Serious mental illnessg | 118 (48) | 50 (42) | 75 (59) | .07 | 60 (46) | 58 (50) | .47 |
Geriatric conditions | |||||||
Persistent pain | 124 (50) | 51 (43) | 74 (57) | .02 | 64 (48) | 61 (53) | .52 |
Persistent shortness of breathh | 37 (15) | 13 (11) | 25 (19) | .08 | 24 (18) | 13 (12) | .15 |
Functional impairmenti | 110 (45) | 34 (29) | 51 (40) | .06 | 47 (36) | 38 (33) | .67 |
Recent fall(s)j | 75 (30) | 26 (22) | 49 (39) | < .01 | 42 (32) | 33 (29) | .6 |
Social and behavioral health factors | |||||||
Tobacco usek | 162 (66) | 73 (62) | 89 (70) | .18 | 86 (66) | 76 (67) | .87 |
Drug usel | 134 (54) | 66 (55) | 70 (54) | .71 | 76 (58) | 58 (50) | .26 |
Problem alcohol usem | 148 (60) | 70 (59) | 79 (61) | .68 | 87 (66) | 62 (54) | .05 |
Homelessnessn | 112 (45) | 42 (36) | 71 (55) | < .01 | 61 (46) | 52 (45) | .17 |
Medication insecurityo | 100 (40) | 39 (33) | 64 (50) | .01 | 55 (41) | 49 (42) | .88 |
Food insecurityo | 152 (62) | 68 (57) | 89 (70) | .04 | 79 (60) | 79 (68) | .17 |
Acute care use | |||||||
Has primary care provider | 174 (70) | 89 (70) | 85 (71) | .74 | 104 (79) | 70 (61) | < .01 |
Recent acute care use | 128 (52) | . . . | . . . | . . . | 64 (48) | 64 (56) | .26 |
Anticipated acute care postrelease | 115 (47) | 64 (54) | 64 (50) | .42 | . . . | . . . | . . . |
Note. GED = general equivalency diploma.
We defined recent acute care use as answering “yes” to the questions “In the 3 months before jail, did you ever visit a hospital emergency room?” or “In the 3 months before jail, did you ever stay overnight in a hospital?”
We defined plans for acute care use after release as answering “emergency room,” “hospital,” named a specific emergency room, or replied “I get my health care in the jail” to the question “after you are released from jail, where will you go for health care?”
Age analyzed with t tests. All other factors analyzed with χ2 tests.
Health conditions determined through self-report or documentation in the jail medical record.
Excluding minor skin cancers.
Determined through documentation in the jail medical record or by answering “yes” to the following question from the Health and Retirement Survey18: “Do you have or have you ever been told by a medical professional that you have Alzheimer’s, dementia, or senility?”
Serious mental illness includes any major depressive, manic, or psychotic disorder and was determined through self-report or documentation in the jail medical record.19
Persistent defined as a symptom described as “moderate or severe” and occurring “constantly or frequently.”23,24
Functional impairment defined as having difficulty with 1 or more activities of daily living (bathing, eating, transferring, toileting, or dressing)27 or needing a cane, wheelchair, walker, or other aid to help with daily activities.
Defined as any self-reported fall to the ground within the past 3 months.25
Tobacco use defined as answering “yes” to “In the week before you came to jail, did you smoke cigarettes?”
Drug use defined as documentation of current drug use in the jail medical record or answering “no” to “In the last year, could you get through the week without using drugs?”32
Problem alcohol use defined as documentation of current alcohol use disorder in jail medical record or a positive screen on the validated, 3-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-C.33
Homelessness defined as needing to spend 1 or more nights outside or in a homeless shelter in the 30 days before jail.29
Medication and food insecurity defined as answering “yes” to “Was there a time in the last year when you did not have enough money for medications or food?”31