title: Multiple risk factors and the likelihood of patient-physician communication and health maintenance services in medicare health plans.
abstract: This study examined both individual and combined effects of race, education, and health-based risk factors on health maintenance services among Medicare plan members. Data were from 110 238 elderly completing the 2006 Medicare Health Outcomes Survey. Receipt of recommended patient-physician communication and interventions for urinary incontinence, physical activity, falls, and osteoporosis was modeled as a function of risk factors. Low education decreased the odds of receiving services; poor health increased odds. Race had little effect. Evidence suggested moderation among competing effects. While clinicians target services to most at-risk elderly individuals, patients with low education experience gaps. Synergies among co-occurring risks warrant further research.
authors.affiliation: The National Committee for Quality Assurance, Washington, DC 20005, USA. ng@ncqa.org
authors.forename: Judy H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Sarah Hudson
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Scholle
authors.forename: Vivian W
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: L Gregory
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Pawlson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011322:Primary Prevention; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014481:United States; D035862:Vulnerable Populations