Table 1.
Patient Characteristics
| Characteristic | Urban (n = 340) | Rural (n = 344) | Significance (p value) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sex, No. | 0.36 | ||
| Female | 182 (53.5 %) | 172 (50.0 %) | |
| Age, median (IQR) | 64.0 (50.0–71.0) | 62.5 (51.0–72.0) | 0.55 |
| Race, No. (%) | 0.28 | ||
| White | 263 (78.7 %) | 256 (75.3 %) | |
| Black | 70 (21.0 %) | 83 (24.4 %) | |
| Education, No. (%) | < 0.0001 | ||
| Less than High school | 16 (4.8 %) | 51 (14.9 %) | |
| High school graduate | 89 (26.5 %) | 141 (41.2 %) | |
| Some college/college graduate | 177 (52.7 %) | 134 (39.2 %) | |
| Post-graduate | 54 (16.1 %) | 16 (4.7 %) | |
| Household Income, No. (%) | < 0.0001 | ||
| < $25,000 | 89 (29.9 %) | 147 (49.2 %) | |
| $25,000–$49,999 | 70 (23.5 %) | 72 (24.1 %) | |
| $50,000–$74,999 | 63 (21.1 %) | 46 (15.4 %) | |
| $75,000+ | 76 (25.5 %) | 34 (11.4 %) | |
| Living situation, No. (%) | 0.55 | ||
| Married or living as if married | 273 (80.8 %) | 284 (82.6 %) | |
| Lives alone | 65 (19.2 %) | 60 (17.4 %) | |
| Number of secondary discharge diagnoses, median (IQR) | 9 (6–13) | 10 (7–14) | 0.014 |
| Payer, No. (%) | 0.0005 | ||
| Private (= Blue cross,“commercial,” “HMO”) | 145 (43.0 %) | 97 (28.4 %) | |
| Government | |||
| Medicare (=medicare, medicare HMO) | 154 (45.7 %) | 191 (56.0 %) | |
| Medicaid (=medicaid, medicaid HMO) | 20 (5.9 %) | 35 (10.3 %) | |
| Self-pay | 18 (5.3 %) | 18 (5.3 %) | |
| Hospital Stay, Number of days, median (IQR) | 3.0 (2.0-4.5) | 3.0 (2.0-4.0) | 0.36 |
| Pneumonia | 41 (12.1 %) | 33 (9.6 %) | 0.30 |
| Top five diagnoses | |||
| Hypertension | 246 (72.4 %) | 247 (71.8 %) | 0.87 |
| Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus | 113 (33.2 %) | 146 (42.4 %) | 0.013 |
| Atrial Fibrillation | 74 (21.8 %) | 75 (21.8 %) | 0.99 |
| Coronary Artery Disease | 63 (18.5 %) | 72 (20.9 %) | 0.43 |
| Infection | 62 (18.2 %) | 69 (20.1 %) | 0.54 |
IQR interquartile range