260 lines
No EOL
15 KiB
HTML
260 lines
No EOL
15 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
|
|
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
|
|
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
|
|
<head>
|
|
<title>Research Activities, October 1995: Minority/Rural Health</title>
|
|
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
|
|
|
|
<!-- "metadata" -->
|
|
<meta name="Title" content="Research Activities, October 1995" />
|
|
<meta name="keywords" content="Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AHRQ, AHCPR, AIDS/HIV, ambulatory care, benchmark, child, cost, elderly, health cost, healthcare cost, hospital, long-term care, managed care, markets, mental health, methodology, minority health, nursing, nursing homes, outcome research, out-of-pocket spending, patient care, primary, primary care, research, rural, spending, study, Translating Research Into Practice, TRIP" />
|
|
<meta name="description" content="Online newsletter summarizing published findings from AHRQ-funded studies, new AHRQ publications and products, and funding opportunities." />
|
|
<meta name="creator" content="Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)" />
|
|
<meta name="language" content="English" />
|
|
<!-- end metadata -->
|
|
<link href="/includes/archive.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
|
|
<link href="/includes/ahrqstyleprint_arch.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="print" />
|
|
<script>
|
|
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
|
|
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
|
|
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
|
|
})(window,document,'script','//www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');
|
|
|
|
ga('create', 'UA-75759936-1', 'auto');
|
|
ga(' set', 'anonymizeIp', true);
|
|
|
|
ga('send', 'pageview');
|
|
|
|
</script></head><body><!-- Google Tag Manager -->
|
|
<noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-W4DST4"
|
|
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
|
|
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
|
|
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
|
|
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
|
|
'//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
|
|
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-W4DST4');</script>
|
|
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->
|
|
<noscript>
|
|
Your browser doesn't support JavaScript. Please upgrade to a modern browser or enable JavaScript in your existing browser.
|
|
</noscript>
|
|
|
|
<!-- Page Header v2.0 -->
|
|
<a name="top" id="top"></a>
|
|
<!--Begin Banner CodeS-->
|
|
<div id="ahrqbanner">
|
|
<div class="hhsportion">
|
|
<a href="#h1" class="skipnav">Skip Navigation</a>
|
|
<a href="http://www.hhs.gov" title="U.S. Department of Health and Human Services">
|
|
<img src="/images/hhs_banner.gif" alt="U.S. Department of Health and Human Services" />
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="http://www.hhs.gov" title="www.hhs.gov" class="hhsright">
|
|
<img src="/images/hhs_link.gif" alt="www.hhs.gov" />
|
|
</a>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<div class="ahrqportion">
|
|
<a href="/" title="Archive: Agency for Healthcare Research Quality">
|
|
<img src="/images/ahrq_banner.gif" alt="Agency for Healthcare Research Quality" />
|
|
</a><form name="searchForm" method="get" action="https://search.ahrq.gov/search" id="banner_searchform">
|
|
<label for="search" style="z-index:-1;position:relative;margin-right:-65px; font-size:0px;">Search</label>
|
|
<input name="q" type="text" value=" Search Archive" size="11" onfocus="this.value='';" class="gotext" label="Search archive" id="search" />
|
|
<input type="hidden" name="entqr" value="0" />
|
|
<input type="hidden" name="output" value="xml_no_dtd" />
|
|
<input type="hidden" name="proxystylesheet" value="ARCHIVE_Front_End" />
|
|
<input type="hidden" name="client" value="ARCHIVE_Front_End" />
|
|
<input type="hidden" name="site" value="ARCHIVE_AHRQ_GOV" />
|
|
<input src="/images/topbn_GoButton.gif" class="gobtn" name="Submit" onclick="javascript:document.searchForm.submit();" type="image" alt="Search" />
|
|
</form>
|
|
<a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/" class="ahrqright">www.ahrq.gov</a>
|
|
</div><div class="ahrqlinks"><a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/">AHRQ Home—Live Site</a> | <a href="/">Archive Home</a> | <a href="/sitemap.htm">Site Map</a> <!-- | <img src="/images/envelope1.jpg" alt="" width="21" height="14" /><a href="https://subscriptions.ahrq.gov/service/multi_subscribe.html?code=USAHRQ">E-mail Updates</a> --></div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div id="PrintBanner">
|
|
<img src="/images/printbanner_arch.jpg" alt="Archive print banner" />
|
|
</div>
|
|
<a name="h1"></a>
|
|
<!-- End banner code -->
|
|
<!-- End of Page header -->
|
|
|
|
<!-- Content Body -->
|
|
<div id="mainContent">
|
|
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" >
|
|
<tr valign="top">
|
|
<td width="70%">
|
|
<!-- Center Content section -->
|
|
<table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left:10px; margin-right:10px;margin-top:5px" summary="This table gives the layout format of the bread crumb area and the center content area.">
|
|
<!--DWLayoutTable-->
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td class="crumb_link"><div id="crumbContent">
|
|
<p><strong>You Are Here:</strong> <span class="crumb_link"><a href="/" class="crumb_link">AHRQ Archive Home</a> > <a href="/research/resarch.htm" class="crumb_link"><em>Research Activities</em> Archive</a> > <a href="." class="crumb_link">October 1995</a>
|
|
</span></p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td><h1><a name="h1" id="h1"></a>Minority/Rural Health </h1>
|
|
</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td><div id="centerContent"><div class="headnote">
|
|
<p>This information is for reference purposes only. It was current when produced and may now be outdated. Archive material is no longer maintained, and some links may not work. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing this information should contact us at: <a href="https://info.ahrq.gov/">https://info.ahrq.gov</a>. Let us know the nature of the problem, the Web address of what you want, and your contact information. </p>
|
|
|
|
|
|
<p>Please go to <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/">www.ahrq.gov</a> for current information.</p></div>
|
|
|
|
<a name="head1"></a><h2>Minority children receive fewer medications
|
|
than white
|
|
children</h2>
|
|
<p>Compared with white children, black and Hispanic children are
|
|
less likely to receive a prescribed medication for a specific
|
|
condition and to receive fewer overall prescribed medications,
|
|
even after accounting for other factors that affect the use of
|
|
prescription medicines, such as health condition, number of
|
|
physician visits, and socioeconomic status, according to Beth A.
|
|
Hahn, Ph.D., a former research fellow with the Agency for Health
|
|
Care Policy and Research. Drug therapy is required for many acute
|
|
conditions in small children, and an estimated 40 percent of
|
|
children's office visits are due to infectious diseases that
|
|
require antibiotics or other prescription drugs.</p><p>
|
|
|
|
Medicaid programs may need to specifically target the medication
|
|
needs of minority children, suggests Dr. Hahn, who used data from
|
|
the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey to examine the
|
|
probability of receiving a prescription medication for children
|
|
ages 1 to 5 years and 6 to 17 years. She found that among older
|
|
children, just over half of minority children received a
|
|
prescription medication compared with two-thirds of white
|
|
children. And older white children received a higher average
|
|
number of medications than either black or Hispanic children.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>About 75 percent of younger white and Hispanic children received
|
|
a prescription medication for a given condition compared with 63
|
|
percent of black children. There was no difference in the average
|
|
number of medications prescribed for young Hispanic children
|
|
compared with whites, but young black children on average
|
|
received one less medication. Dr. Hahn's findings confirm those
|
|
of other researchers who have demonstrated racial and ethnic
|
|
differences in the receipt of health services and confirm that
|
|
minority children receive fewer services than white children.</p><p>
|
|
|
|
More details are in "Children's health: Racial and ethnic
|
|
differences in the use of prescription medications," by Dr. Hahn,
|
|
in the May 1995 issue of <em>Pediatrics</em> 95(5), pp. 727-732.</p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="head2"></a><h2>Racial variations found in use of community
|
|
services by
|
|
elderly rural residents</h2>
|
|
<p>Although 85 percent of elderly North Carolinians are aware of
|
|
community services such as home-delivered meals and senior
|
|
centers, few use them. The most widely used services are senior
|
|
centers (13 percent) and places that serve group meals (9
|
|
percent). Elderly blacks use both types of services to a larger
|
|
extent than more economically advantaged whites, who may view
|
|
these services as a "handout" and the centers as the domain of
|
|
black people, explains Jim Mitchell, Ph.D., of East Carolina
|
|
University, author of a study supported by the Agency for Health
|
|
Care Policy and Research (HS05381).</p><p>
|
|
|
|
Based on data from a 1990-1991 study of health care use among 868
|
|
noninstitutionalized elderly people in eastern North Carolina,
|
|
Dr. Mitchell assessed the effects of demographics, need, and
|
|
access to services on use of services such as help with chores,
|
|
supplemental security income, home repair, meals on wheels, and
|
|
home health care. Results showed that use of these services was
|
|
most influenced by need (measured by chronic health conditions,
|
|
number of prescription medications, and functional independence),
|
|
regardless of access barriers such as illiteracy and lack of
|
|
transportation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Race was the only demographic variable that had a significant
|
|
effect on senior center use. Elderly blacks with physical
|
|
limitations and few social contacts, who had more help from
|
|
others and were aware of the centers, were the most likely to use
|
|
them. This suggests that senior centers are moving toward meeting
|
|
the needs of elderly persons with limited capabilities rather
|
|
than toward commonly perceived recreational or personal
|
|
enrichment services, concludes Dr. Mitchell.</p><p>
|
|
|
|
For more information, see "Service awareness and use among older
|
|
North Carolinians," by Dr. Mitchell, in the June 1995 issue of
|
|
<em>The Journal of Applied Gerontology</em> 14(2), pp. 193-209.</p>
|
|
|
|
<a name="head3"></a><h2>Rural Nebraskans have at least as much access
|
|
to health
|
|
care as their urban counterparts</h2>
|
|
<p>Generally, access to health care is more limited in rural than
|
|
urban America, according to several national surveys. Rural
|
|
residents are more apt to be distant from doctors and hospitals,
|
|
have limited public transportation, low income, and no health
|
|
insurance compared with urban residents. Yet a new study shows
|
|
that access to health care, even in isolated parts of rural
|
|
Nebraska, was as good, if not better, than access to health care
|
|
in urban parts of the State during the late 1980s. The fact that
|
|
Nebraska's experience differs from the Nation as a whole argues
|
|
for State involvement in developing any new networks for
|
|
delivering health care services, note authors John Comer, Ph.D.,
|
|
and Keith Mueller, Ph.D., of the University of Nebraska Medical
|
|
Center.</p><p>
|
|
|
|
With support from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
|
|
(HS05760), the researchers used a random sample of nearly 6,000
|
|
households to compare residents of urban and rural Nebraskan
|
|
counties on several measures of access to health care. After
|
|
controlling for health insurance status, they found that rural
|
|
residents were more apt to have a personal physician and visit
|
|
the physician more often than their urban counterparts. Even
|
|
uninsured rural residents reported an average of two more visits
|
|
than urban residents during the study year (1989-1990), even
|
|
after accounting for need for health care (severity of illness).
|
|
Also, a larger percentage of rural residents with health problems
|
|
were hospitalized than urban residents, but this was a small and
|
|
statistically insignificant difference.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Rural Nebraskans were no more likely to cite inability to pay as
|
|
a deterrent to seeking care than urban Nebraskans. Nebraskan
|
|
rural health care costs are cheaper than similar urban costs.
|
|
Since the rural health care dollar goes a bit further, rural
|
|
hospitals and physicians may be more willing to carry patients
|
|
who cannot pay and who do not have insurance. This is not the
|
|
kind of pattern one would expect if access were more of a problem
|
|
in rural areas, conclude the researchers.</p><p>
|
|
|
|
Details are in "Access to health care: Urban-rural comparisons
|
|
from a midwestern agricultural state," by Dr. Comer and Dr.
|
|
Mueller, in <em>The Journal of Rural Health</em> 11(2), pp.
|
|
128-136, 1995.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p class="size2"><a href=".">Return to Contents</a><br />
|
|
<a href="dept5.htm">Proceed to Next Section</a></p>
|
|
<div class="footnote">
|
|
<p> The information on this page is archived and provided for reference purposes only.</p></div>
|
|
<p> </p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</table>
|
|
<!-- End of Center Content section -->
|
|
</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</table>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<!-- End of Content Body -->
|
|
<!-- Footer graphic 1.2-->
|
|
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" width="100%">
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td width="125" background="/images/bottom_ahrq_bkg.jpg"><img src="/images/bottom_ahrq_1.jpg" width="125" alt="AHRQ" /></td>
|
|
<td width="100%" background="/images/bottom_ahrq_bkg.jpg" ><img src="/images/bottom_ahrq_bkg.jpg" width="10" height="34" alt="" /></td>
|
|
|
|
<td width="310" background="/images/bottom_ahrq_bkg.jpg"><img src="/images/bottom_ahrq_2.gif" alt="Advancing Excellence in Health Care" width="310" height="34" /></td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</table>
|
|
<!-- Footer links section -->
|
|
<div id="banner_Footer2"><p> <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/">AHRQ Home</a> | <a href="https://info.ahrq.gov" class="footer_navlink">Questions?</a> | <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/contact/index.html" class="footer_navlink">Contact AHRQ</a> | <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/sitemap.html" class="footer_navlink">Site Map</a> | <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/policy/electronic/accessibility/index.html" class="footer_navlink">Accessibility</a> | <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/policy/electronic/privacy/index.html" class="footer_navlink">Privacy
|
|
Policy</a> | <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/policy/foia/index.html" class="footer_navlink">Freedom of Information Act</a> | <a href="https://www.ahrq.gov/policy/electronic/disclaimers/index.html" class="footer_navlink">Disclaimers</a> | <a href="http://www.hhs.gov/open/recordsandreports/plainwritingact/index.html" class="footer_navlink">Plain Writing Act</a> <br />
|
|
|
|
<a href="http://www.hhs.gov" class="footer_navlink">U.S. Department of Health & Human Services</a> | <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov" class="footer_navlink">The White House</a> | <a href="http://www.usa.gov" class="footer_navlink">USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal</a></p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div id="banner_Footeraddress"><p>Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality <img src="/images/bottom_dot.gif" alt="" /> 5600 Fishers Lane Rockville, MD 20857 <img src="/images/bottom_dot.gif" alt="" /> Telephone: (301) 427-1364</p></div>
|
|
|
|
<!-- End of Footer links section -->
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html> |