Project description:ObjectiveTo understand disparities in primary care patient experience.DesignA serial cross-sectional study was conducted to understand disparities in patient experience at 2 time points (2014 and 2016). Disparities related to age, gender, neighbourhood income, and self-rated health were explored using 3 analytic approaches: stratification, logistic regression, and relative comparison across multiple demographic variables.SettingA multisite family health team in Toronto, Ont.ParticipantsPatients in the family medicine practice who completed e-mail surveys in 2014 (n = 1171, 19% response rate) and 2016 (n = 1823, 15% response rate).Main outcome measuresPatient-reported access (timely access when sick, access after hours) and patient-centredness (opportunity to ask questions, involvement in care decisions, enough time with provider).ResultsPerformance for all measures improved between 2014 and 2016, with the greatest absolute improvement seen in access after hours (61% in 2014; 75% in 2016). Patients residing in low-income neighbourhoods reported worse patient experiences than those in high-income neighbourhoods did, as did patients with poor versus excellent self-rated health, even after adjustment for other variables. For example, in 2016, 60% of patients residing in low-income neighbourhoods reported timely access when sick versus 70% in high-income neighbourhoods (adjusted odds ratio of 0.67, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.95); 60% of patients with poor or fair self-rated health reported timely access when sick versus 72% with excellent self-rated health (adjusted odds ratio of 0.54, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.84). Comparing across demographic groups, patients with excellent self-rated health and poor or fair self-rated health reported the best and worst experiences, respectively, for all measures. In 2016, the average disparity between subgroups was largest for access after hours.ConclusionIn this setting, patient experience was worse for patients in lower-income neighbourhoods and those with poor or fair self-rated health. Access after hours demonstrated the greatest overall absolute improvement but also the greatest widening of disparities.
Project description:ImportanceRacial disparities in treatment benchmarks have been documented among older patients with hip fractures. However, these studies were limited to patient-level evaluations.ObjectiveTo assess whether disparities in meeting fracture care time-to-surgery benchmarks exist at the patient level or at the hospital or institutional level using high-quality multicenter prospectively collected data; the study hypothesis was that disparities at the hospital-level reflecting structural health systems issues would be detected.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study was a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data in the PREP-IT (Program of Randomized trials to Evaluate Preoperative antiseptic skin solutions in orthopaedic Trauma) program from 23 sites throughout North America. The PREP-IT trials enrolled patients from 2018 to 2021, and patients were followed for 1-year. All patients with hip and femur fractures enrolled in the PREP-IT program were included in analysis. Data were analyzed April to September 2022.ExposuresPatient-level and hospital-level race, ethnicity, and insurance status.Main outcomes and measuresPrimary outcome measure was time to surgery based on 24-hour time-to-surgery benchmarks. Multilevel multivariate regression models were used to evaluate the association of race, ethnicity, and insurance status with time to surgery. The reported odds ratios (ORs) were per 10% change in insurance coverage or racial composition at the hospital level.ResultsA total of 2565 patients with a mean (SD) age of 64.5 (20.4) years (1129 [44.0%] men; mean [SD] body mass index, 27.3 [14.9]; 83 [3.2%] Asian, 343 [13.4%] Black, 2112 [82.3%] White, 28 [1.1%] other) were included in analysis. Of these patients, 834 (32.5%) were employed and 2367 (92.2%) had insurance; 1015 (39.6%) had sustained a femur fracture, with a mean (SD) injury severity score of 10.4 (5.8). Five hundred ninety-six patients (23.2%) did not meet the 24-hour time-to-operating-room benchmark. After controlling for patient-level characteristics, there was an independent association between missing the 24-hour benchmark and hospital population insurance coverage (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-0.98; P = .005) and the interaction term between hospital population insurance coverage and racial composition (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .03). There was no association between patient race and delay beyond 24-hour benchmarks (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.72-1.29; P = .79).Conclusions and relevanceIn this cohort study, patients who sought care from an institution with a greater proportion of patients with racial or ethnic minority status or who were uninsured were more likely to experience delays greater than the 24-hour benchmarks regardless of the individual patient race; institutions that treat a less diverse patient population appeared to be more resilient to the mix of insurance status in their patient population and were more likely to meet time-to-surgery benchmarks, regardless of patient insurance status or population-based insurance mix. While it is unsurprising that increased delays were associated with underfunded institutions, the association between institutional-level racial disparity and surgical delays implies structural health systems bias.
Project description:BackgroundRacial disparities in childhood asthma outcomes result from a complex interplay of individual- and neighborhood-level factors.ObjectivesWe sought to examine racial disparities in asthma-related emergency department (ED) visits between African American (AA) and European American (EA) children.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of patients younger than 18 years who visited the ED at Cincinnati Children's for asthma from 2009 to 2018. The outcome was number of ED visits during a year. We assessed 11 social, economic, and environmental variables. Mediation and mixed-effects analyses were used to assess relationships between race, mediators, and number of ED visits.ResultsA total of 31,114 children (46.1% AA, 53.9% EA) had 186,779 asthma-related ED visits. AA children had more visits per year than EA children (2.23 vs 2.15; P < .001). Medicaid insurance was associated with a 7% increase in rate of ED visits compared with commercial insurance (1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.1). Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with an increased rate of ED visits in AA but not in EA children. Area-level particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm, pollen, and outdoor mold were associated with an increased rate of ED visits for both AA and EA children (all P < .001). Associations between race and number of ED visits were mediated by insurance, area-level deprivation, particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 μm, and outdoor mold (all P < .001), altogether accounting for 55% of the effect of race on ED visits. Race was not associated with number of ED visits (P = .796) after accounting for mediators.ConclusionsRacial disparities in asthma-related ED visits are mediated by social, economic, and environmental factors, which may be amenable to interventions aimed at improving outcomes and eliminating inequities.
Project description:During acute stroke care, rehabilitation usage may be influenced by patient- and hospital-related factors. We would like to identify patient- and hospital-level determinants of population-level inpatient rehabilitation usage associated with acute stroke care.From data obtained from the claim information from the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) in Taiwan (2009-2011), we enrolled 82,886 stroke patients with intracerebral hemorrhage and cerebral infarction from 207 hospitals. A generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) analyses with patient-level factors specified as random effects were conducted (for cross-level interactions).The rate of rehabilitation usage was 51% during acute stroke care. The hospital-related factors accounted for a significant amount of variability (intraclass correlation, 50%). Hospital type was the only significant hospital-level variable and can explain the large amount of variability (58%). Patients treated in smaller hospitals experienced few benefits of rehabilitation services, and those with surgery in a smaller hospital used fewer rehabilitation services. All patient-level variables were significant.With GLMM analyses, we identified the hospital type and its cross-level interaction, and explained a large portion of variability in rehabilitation for stroke patients in Taiwan.
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Review approaches assessing magnitude of differences in patient experience scores between different providers. DATA SOURCES:1990-2016 literature. STUDY DESIGN:Systematic literature review. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS:Of 812 articles mentioning "CAHPS," "patient experience," "patient satisfaction," "important(ce)," "difference," or "significance," we identified 79 possible articles, yielding 35 for data abstraction. We included 22 articles measuring magnitude of differences in patient experiences. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:We identified three main ways of estimating magnitude of differences in patient experience scores: (1) by distribution/range of patient experience variable, (2) against external anchor, and (3) comparing a difference in patient experience on one covariate to differences in patient experience on other covariates. CONCLUSIONS:We suggest routine estimation of magnitude in patient experience research. More work is needed documenting magnitude of differences between providers to make patient experience data more interpretable and usable.
Project description:ObjectivesEvaluate whether hospital factors, including nurse resources, explain racial differences in Medicare black and white patient surgical outcomes and whether disparities changed over time.DesignRetrospective tapered-match.Setting571 hospitals at two time points (Early Era 2003-2005; Recent Era 2013-2015).Participants6752 black patients and three sets of 6752 white controls selected from 107 001 potential controls (Early Era). 4964 black patients and three sets of 4964 white controls selected from 74 108 potential controls (Recent Era).InterventionsBlack patients were matched to white controls on demographics (age, sex, state and year of procedure), procedure (demographics variables plus 136 International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-9 principal procedure codes) and presentation (demographics and procedure variables plus 34 comorbidities, a mortality risk score, a propensity score for being black, emergency admission, transfer status, predicted procedure time).Outcomes30-day and 1-year mortality.ResultsBefore matching, black patients had more comorbidities, higher risk of mortality despite being younger and underwent procedures at different percentages than white patients. Whites in the demographics match had lower mortality at 30 days (5.6% vs 6.7% Early Era; 5.4% vs 5.7% Recent Era) and 1-year (15.5% vs 21.5% Early Era; 12.3% vs 15.9% Recent Era). Black-white 1-year mortality differences were equivalent after matching patients with respect to presentation, procedure and demographic factors. Black-white 30-day mortality differences were equivalent after matching on procedure and demographic factors. Racial disparities in outcomes remained unchanged between the two time periods spanning 10 years. All patients in hospitals with better nurse resources had lower odds of 30-day (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.78, p<0.010) and 1-year mortality (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.92, p<0.010) even after accounting for other hospital factors.ConclusionsSurvival disparities among black and white patients are largely explained by differences in demographic, procedure and presentation factors. Better nurse resources (eg, staffing, work environment) were associated with lower mortality for all patients.
Project description:Variation in the use of ICUs for low-risk conditions contributes to health system inefficiency. We sought to examine the relationship between ICU use for patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) and cost, mortality, readmission, and procedure use.We performed a retrospective cohort study including 61,249 adults with PE discharged from 263 hospitals in three states between 2007 and 2010. We generated hospital-specific ICU admission rate quartiles and used a series of multilevel models to evaluate relationships between admission rates and risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality, readmission, and costs and between ICU admission rates and several critical care procedures.Hospital quartiles varied in unadjusted ICU admission rates for PE (range, ≤ 15% to > 31%). Among all patients, there was a small trend toward increased use of arterial catheterization (0.6%-1.1%, P < .01) in hospital quartiles with higher levels of ICU admission. However, use of invasive mechanical ventilation (14.4%-7.9%, P < .01), noninvasive ventilation (6.6%-3.0%, P < .01), central venous catheterization (14.6%-11.3%, P < .02), and thrombolytics (11.0%-4.7%, P < .01) in patients in the ICU declined across hospital quartiles. There was no relationship between ICU admission rate and risk-adjusted hospital mortality, costs, or readmission.Hospitals vary widely in ICU admission rates for acute PE without a detectable impact on mortality, cost, or readmission. Patients admitted to ICUs in higher-using hospitals received many critical care procedures less often, suggesting that these patients may have had weaker indications for ICU admission. Hospitals with greater ICU admission may be appropriate targets for improving efficiency in ICU admissions.
Project description:BackgroundEstablishing a positive safety-culture environment is essential in healthcare settings to enhance patient care. This study aimed to determine the relationship between critical care nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture and adverse events.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 nurses working in critical care units in the Damanhour Governorate in Egypt. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire, including the Hospital Survey of Patients' Safety Culture (HSOPSC) and information on adverse events (AEs).ResultsThe study revealed areas for improvement in patient safety culture, with low positive response rates in staffing (26.6%), non-punitive response to errors (38%), handoffs and transitions (39.4%), teamwork across and within units (42.3%), and overall perception of patient safety (49.3%). The majority of critical care nurses had a moderate to high level of overall perception of patient safety at 42.5% and 42.0%, respectively. The most frequent adverse events reported daily were complaints from patients or their families (65.5%). Adverse drug events and patient falls occurred several times per week in 56.5% and 57.0% of patients, respectively. A significant association was found between low safety culture perception and higher rates of patient falls (p = .008), adverse drug events (p = .005), and patient/family complaints (p = .030).ConclusionThe findings of the study indicate that nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture are moderate. Adverse medication responses, falls, and complaints from patients or their families were noted. Female nurses aged 31 to 40, especially divorced nurses, had more experience, worked fewer than 8 h daily, and had a higher education level, which appeared to influence overall safety culture perceptions. Furthermore, there was a correlation between the prevalence of adverse events and patient safety culture, with cooperation being the key factor.
Project description:ObjectiveTo compare two approaches to measuring racial/ethnic disparities in the use of high-quality hospitals.Data sourcesSimulated data.Study designThrough simulations, we compared the "minority-serving" approach of assessing differences in risk-adjusted outcomes at minority-serving and non-minority-serving hospitals with a "fixed-effect" approach that estimated the reduction in adverse outcomes if the distribution of minority and white patients across hospitals was the same. We evaluated each method's ability to detect and measure a disparity in outcomes caused by minority patients receiving care at poor-quality hospitals, which we label a "between-hospital" disparity, and to reject it when the disparity in outcomes was caused by factors other than hospital quality.Principal findingsThe minority-serving and fixed-effect approaches correctly identified between-hospital disparities in quality when they existed and rejected them when racial differences in outcomes were caused by other disparities; however, the fixed-effect approach has many advantages. It does not require an ad hoc definition of a minority-serving hospital, and it estimated the magnitude of the disparity accurately, while the minority-serving approach underestimated the disparity by 35-46 percent.ConclusionsResearchers should consider using the fixed-effect approach for measuring disparities in use of high-quality hospital care by vulnerable populations.
Project description:ObjectiveQuality of care delivered to adult patients in the emergency department (ED) is often associated with demographic and clinical factors such as a patient's race/ethnicity and insurance status. We sought to determine whether the quality of care delivered to children in the ED was associated with a variety of patient-level factors.MethodsThis was a retrospective, observational cohort study. Pediatric patients (<18 years) who received care between January 2011 and December 2011 at one of 12 EDs participating in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) were included. We analyzed demographic factors (including age, sex, and payment source) and clinical factors (including triage, chief complaint, and severity of illness). We measured quality of care using a previously validated implicit review instrument using chart review with a summary score that ranged from 5 to 35. We examined associations between demographic and clinical factors and quality of care using a hierarchical multivariable linear regression model with hospital site as a random effect.ResultsIn the multivariable model, among the 620 ED encounters reviewed, we did not find any association between patient age, sex, race/ethnicity, and payment source and the quality of care delivered. However, we did find that some chief complaint categories were significantly associated with lower than average quality of care, including fever (-0.65 points in quality, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.24 to -0.06) and upper respiratory symptoms (-0.68 points in quality, 95% CI = -1.30 to -0.07).ConclusionWe found that quality of ED care delivered to children among a cohort of 12 EDs participating in the PECARN was high and did not differ by patient age, sex, race/ethnicity, and payment source, but did vary by the presenting chief complaint.