TABLE 2—
Correlates of Transportation Barriers to Care Among US Adults in 2017
| Covariate | AOR (95% CI) | Average Differential Effecta |
| Sociodemographics | ||
| Female | 1.18 (0.90, 1.55) | 0.003 |
| Age group, y | ||
| 18–44 (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| 45–64 | 0.82 (0.59, 1.14) | −0.004 |
| 65–74 | 0.62 (0.42, 0.92) | −0.008 |
| ≥ 75 | 0.48 (0.31, 0.73) | −0.011 |
| Race/ethnicity | ||
| Non-Hispanic White (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| Hispanic | 1.54 (1.08, 2.20) | 0.008 |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 1.09 (0.80, 1.49) | 0.001 |
| Non-Hispanic Asian, multiracial, or other | 1.2 (0.79, 1.98) | 0.004 |
| Educational attainment | ||
| High school or less (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| Some college | 1.27 (0.98, 1.67) | 0.004 |
| Bachelor’s degree or higher | 0.75 (0.50, 1.13) | −0.004 |
| Family income, $ | ||
| 0–34 999 (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| 35 000–74 999 | 0.47 (0.33, 0.68) | −0.013 |
| 75 000–99 999 | 0.34 (0.15, 0.79) | −0.016 |
| ≥ 100 000 | 0.38 (0.23, 0.63) | −0.015 |
| Below poverty levelb | 1.67 (1.28, 2.18) | 0.009 |
| Medicaid | 1.60 (1.17, 2.20) | 0.009 |
| No health insurance | 1.24 (0.84, 1.84) | 0.004 |
| Unemployed | 1.54 (0.97, 2.43) | 0.009 |
| Veteran status | 0.82 (0.55, 1.22) | −0.003 |
| Region | ||
| Northeast (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| North Central or Midwest | 1.93 (1.26, 2.95) | 0.010 |
| South | 1.61 (1.12, 2.33) | 0.007 |
| West | 1.49 (0.97, 2.30) | 0.006 |
| Health | ||
| Self-reported health status | ||
| Poor | 2.92 (1.59, 5.36) | 0.023 |
| Fair | 2.30 (1.38, 3.83) | 0.016 |
| Good | 1.16 (0.71, 1.89) | 0.002 |
| Very good | 0.93 (0.56, 1.55) | −0.001 |
| Excellent (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| Currently pregnant | 0.21 (0.05, 0.92) | −0.014 |
| Diabetes or prediabetes | 1.02 (0.78, 1.33) | 0.000 |
| Asthma | 1.18 (0.91, 1.54) | 0.003 |
| Ever told have cancer | 0.77 (0.56, 1.07) | −0.004 |
| Heart condition or disease | 1.13 (0.75, 1.71) | 0.002 |
| Hypertension | 1.20 (0.92, 1.56) | 0.003 |
| Weak or failing kidneys | 1.34 (0.87, 2.04) | 0.005 |
| Ever had stroke | 1.48 (1.02, 2.16) | 0.008 |
| Functional limitation | 2.58 (1.75, 3.82) | 0.015 |
| No. of ER/ED visits in last 12 mo | ||
| 0 (Ref) | 1 | . . . |
| 1–3 | 1.47 (1.12, 1.94) | 0.007 |
| ≥ 4 | 2.41 (1.63, 3.56) | 0.019 |
Note. AOR = adjusted odds ratio; CI = confidence interval; ER/ED = emergency room/emergency department. Analysis accounted for features of complex sampling strategy including stratification, clustering, and weights. The unweighted sample size for 2017 was 24 947.
The average marginal effect (or “differential effect” for categorical variables) is the average change in the predicted probability of reporting a transportation barrier by a unit increase in the variable of interest (or by a relative change from the reference category for categorical variables).
To determine poverty status, the National Health Interview Survey compares reported total family income with the US Census Bureau’s poverty thresholds for the year in question (2017). These thresholds are based not only on income but also on family size and the number of children younger than 18 years.