Racial disparity and regional variance in healthcare utilization among patients with lung cancer in US hospitals during 2016–2019

Archives of Public Health

Research

Sun Jung Kim¹  Jongwha Chang²  Dong Yeong Shin³  Mar Medina⁴ 

[1] Department of Health Administration and Management, College of Medical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea;Center for Healthcare Management Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea;Department of Software Convergence, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Republic of Korea;Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA;Department of Public Health Sciences, College of Health and Social Services, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA;School of Pharmacy, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA;

关键词: Lung cancer;    NIS sample;    Healthcare utilization;    Racial disparity;    Regional variance;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13690-023-01166-4

 received in 2023-03-02, accepted in 2023-08-06,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLung cancer health disparities are related to various patient factors. This study describes regional differences in healthcare utilization and racial characteristics to identify high-risk areas. This study aimed to identify regions and races at greater risk for lung cancer health disparities based on differences in healthcare utilization, measured here by hospital charges and length of stay.MethodsThe National Inpatient Sample of the United States was used to identify patients with lung cancer (n = 92,159, weighted n = 460,795) from 2016 to 2019. We examined the characteristics of the patient sample and the association between the racial and regional variables and healthcare utilization, measured by hospital charges and length of stay. The multivariate sample weighted linear regression model estimated how racial and regional variables are associated with healthcare utilization.ResultsOut of 460,795 patients, 76.4% were white, and 40.2% were from the South. The number of lung cancer patients during the study periods was stable. However, hospital charges were somewhat increased, and the length of stay was decreased during the study period. Sample weighted linear regression results showed that Hispanic & Asian patients were associated with 21.1% and 12.3% higher hospital charges than White patients. Compared with the Northeast, Midwest and South were associated with lower hospital charges, however, the West was associated with higher hospital charges.ConclusionMinority groups and regions are at an increased risk for health inequalities because of differences in healthcare utilization. Further differences in utilization by insurance type may exacerbate the situation for some patients with lung cancer. Hospital managers and policymakers working with these patient populations in identified areas should strive to address these disparities through special prevention programs and targeted financial assistance.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature 2023

【 图 表 】

Fig. 5