Using 1996 national mortality data, this study examined the risk of death among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) in an outpatient/ER setting as opposed to other places of death such as inpatient-hospital or clinic, nursing home, or residence. Of the 2,314,690 deaths in the US, there were 29,508 decedents of APIA ethnicity. Over 8% of all deaths in 1996, i.e., 187,943, were outpatient/ER deaths. Compared with non-Hispanic whites (7.50%), APIAs had higher percentages of outpatient/ER deaths; the rates were 8.75% for Chinese, 9.14% for Japanese, 0.42% for Filipinos, 16.47% for Asian Indians, 11.22% for Koreans, 10.75% for Vietnamese, 15.73% for Hawaiians, and 11.70% for other APIAs. The results of the multiple logistic regression (n=560,268) that controlled for age, sex, marital status, education, nativity, and region of residence indicate that, compared with non-Hispanic whites, the risk of outpatient/ER death was significantly higher for Asian Indians (103%), Hawaiians (74%), Koreans (32%), Japanese (22%), Chinese (12%), Blacks (39%), Mexicans (21%), and South and Central Americans (18%). The leading cause of death in an outpatient setting was ischemic heart disease. Findings of this study suggests that the higher proportion of APIAs who die as outpatients highlight problems related to health care access and timely treatment, linguistic, cultural and resource barriers, as well as care seeking behavior. These patients may not have usual sources of care to monitor their illness, or are not hospitalized as the disease advances. Delayed treatment in the outpatient/ER setting may be due to incomplete medical history, communication and linguistic barriers.
Learning Objectives: -Recognize racial/ethnic disparities in outpatient/ER death. -Develop strategies to reduce disparities identified
Keywords: Access to Care, Asian and Pacific Islander
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.