Table 4.
Factors Associated with Disparities in Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations: Incidence Rate Ratio Estimates
| All Conditions | Chronic Conditions | Acute Conditions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race‐ethnicity (Reference=Whites) | |||
| Hispanics | 0.74* | 0.80* | 0.70* |
| Blacks | 1.39* | 1.68* | 0.98 |
| Others | 0.68* | 0.71* | 0.66* |
| Hispanic national origin (Reference=Mexican) | |||
| Puerto Rican | 1.06* | 1.06 | 1.06* |
| Cuban | 1.44* | 1.38* | 1.53* |
| Other | 1.01 | 1 | 1.02 |
| Women | 1.07* | 0.94* | 1.30* |
| Age (Reference: 18–44) | |||
| 45–64 | 3.49* | 4.39* | 2.35* |
| 65+ | 13.21* | 14.90* | 11.50* |
| Prevalence | |||
| High % hypertension | 1.12* | 1.11* | 1.05 |
| High % high cholesterol | 0.98 | 0.97 | 1.02 |
| High % diabetes | 1.06* | 1.05* | 1.05* |
| High % coronary heart disease | 1.05 | 1.06 | 1.04 |
| High % COPD or asthma | 1.02 | 1.03 | 0.99 |
| Socioeconomic indicators | |||
| Low income | 1.12* | 1.15* | 1.08* |
| High poverty | 1.14* | 1.16* | 1.10* |
| Low education achievement | 1.01 | 0.99 | 1.02 |
| High unemployment | 1.07* | 1.10* | 1.02 |
| Health care access | |||
| High uninsurance | 1.10* | 1.17* | 0.95 |
| High % without personal physician | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.98 |
| High % did not see physician due to cost | 1.12* | 1.10* | 1.15* |
| Less than 0.65 physicians per 1,000 population (Reference: > 0.65 physicians per 1,000 population) | 1.05* | 1.06* | 1.04* |
| Acculturation | |||
| High % speak non‐English at home | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.98 |
| High % speak English less than very well | 1.01 | 1.01 | 1.01 |
| High % foreign born | 1.00 | 1.01 | 0.98 |
| Urban/rural (Reference: Metropolitan areas with population >250,000) | |||
| Urban areas with population 20,000 to 250,000 | 0.94* | 0.92* | 0.97* |
| Urban areas with population under 20,000 near metro | 0.98 | 0.92* | 1.08* |
| Rural areas with population under 10,000 | 0.86* | 0.80* | 0.97 |
The findings were produced using county‐level aggregated data stratified by age (grouped into 18–44, 45–64, and 65+), sex, and race/ethnicity. Data sources: Census population data (2010–2011) were obtained from the Census Bureau, and counts of potentially preventable hospitalizations were obtained from the inpatient discharge data (2010–2011) from the study states. Area‐level measures of comorbidities, health care access, socioeconomic status, and provider availability were obtained from different public sources noted in the Methods section. Incidence rate ratio estimates were obtained from a Poisson regression model with the indicated reference groups. In addition to the covariates indicated, we also included indicators of individual states to adjust for unobserved systematic differences by state. * indicates p < .05.