Segregation and disparities in health services use.
We compared race disparities in health services use in a national sample of adults from the 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and data from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities Project, a 2003 survey of adult residents from a low-income integrated urban community in Maryland. In the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data, African Americans were less likely to have a health care visit compared with Whites. However, in the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities Project, the integrated community, African Americans were more likely to have a health care visit than Whites. The race disparities in the incidence rate of health care use among persons who had at least one visit were similar in both samples. Our findings suggest that disparities in health care utilization may differ across communities and that residential segregation may be a confounding factor.
Gaskin
Darrell J
DJ
African American Studies Department, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland, 2169 LeFrak Hall, College Park, MD 20742, USA. dgaskin@aasp.umd.edu
Price
Adrian
A
Brandon
Dwayne T
DT
Laveist
Thomas A
TA
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015142:Baltimore; D003625:Data Collection; D004493:Education; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D054525:Minority Health; D015233:Models, Statistical; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011287:Prejudice; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data