RESUMO
Asthma morbidity disproportionately impacts children from low-income and racial/ethnic minority communities. School-supervised asthma therapy improves asthma outcomes for up to 15 months for underrepresented minority children, but little is known about whether these benefits are sustained over time. We examined the frequency of emergency department (ED) visits and hospital admissions for 83 children enrolled in Asthma Link, a school nurse-supervised asthma therapy program serving predominantly underrepresented minority children. We compared outcomes between the year preceding enrollment and years one-four post-enrollment. Compared with the year prior to enrollment, asthma-related ED visits decreased by 67.9% at one year, 59.5% at two years, 70.2% at three years, and 50% at four years post-enrollment (all p-values< 0.005). There were also significant declines in mean numbers of total ED visits, asthma-related hospital admissions, and total hospital admissions. Our results indicate that school nurse-supervised asthma therapy could potentially mitigate racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in childhood asthma.
RESUMO
Background and Aims: The impact of sociodemographic factors on outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) is not well studied. We characterized the association of race/ethnicity and insurance status with procedures, length of stay (LOS), mortality, and cost of care in a cohort of hospitalized patients with UC. Methods: Data from the National Inpatient Sample from 2016 to 2018 were used. Outcomes were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. All models included age, sex, income quartile, hospital diagnosis, hospital characteristics, and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index as well as the primary predictors. Results: A total of 34,814 patients were included. Black (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.46, 95% confidence interval [0.39-0.55]) or Hispanic (aOR 0.74, [0.64-0.86]) patients had lower odds of colectomy than White patients. Patients with Medicare (aOR 0.54, [0.48-0.62), Medicaid (aOR 0.51, [0.45-0.58]), or no insurance (aOR 0.42, [0.35-0.50]) had lower odds of colectomy than privately insured patients. Black patients had higher mortality than White patients (aOR 1.38, [1.07-1.78]). Patients with Medicare or Medicaid had 5% ([1.01-1.09]) and 9% longer LOS ([1.05-1.13]), respectively, than privately insured patients, while uninsured patients had a 6% shorter LOS ([0.90-0.97]). Hispanic or Asian/Native American patients had 11% ([1.06-1.15]) and 13% ([1.07-1.20]) higher costs, respectively, than White patients. Uninsured patients had 11% lower hospitalization costs than privately insured patients ([0.85-0.94]). Conclusion: Hospitalized patients with UC differed significantly in rates of colectomy, mortality, LOS, and costs based on race/ethnicity and insurance status. Further research is needed to understand the cause of these differences and develop targeted solutions to reduce these inequities.
RESUMO
Maternal mortality has been increasing in the United States over the past 3 decades, while decreasing in all other high-income countries during the same period. Cardiovascular conditions account for over one fourth of maternal deaths, with two thirds of deaths occurring in the postpartum period. There are also significant healthcare disparities that have been identified in women experiencing maternal morbidity and mortality, with Black women at 3 to 4 times the risk of death as their White counterparts and women in rural areas at heightened risk for cardiovascular morbidity and maternal morbidity. However, many maternal deaths have been shown to be preventable, and improving access to care may be a key solution to addressing maternal cardiovascular mortality. Medicaid currently finances almost half of all births in the United States and is mandated to provide coverage for women with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, for up to 60 days postpartum. In states that have not expanded coverage, new mothers become uninsured after 60 days. Medicaid expansion has been shown to reduce maternal mortality, particularly benefiting racial and ethnic minorities, likely through reduced insurance churn, improved postpartum access to care, and improved interpregnancy care. However, even among states with Medicaid expansion, significant care gaps exist. An additional proposed intervention to improve access to care in these high-risk populations is extension of Medicaid coverage for 1 year after delivery, which would provide the most benefit to women in Medicaid nonexpanded states, but also improve care to women in Medicaid expanded states.