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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Catharine W. Burt, EdD¹, Irma E. Arispe, PhD², and Linda McCaig, MPH¹. (1) National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 3409, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301) 458-4365, LMcCaig@cdc.gov, (2) National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 3115, Hyattsville, MD 21211

Analysis of emergency department (ED) utilization among persons of Hispanic or Latino origin has traditionally been limited because hospitals have not collected such ethnicity data. However, with 22 states now mandating the collection of race and ethnicity data, and with these states representing over 80% of the U.S. Hispanic population, new opportunities exist to study racial and ethnic disparities for important health problems.

This study uses data from the 2003 and 2004 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) (which includes a new strategy involving state location to impute missing ethnicity data - 15.4%) to derive estimates of illness and injury episodes presenting to the ED for Hispanics (n=10,029) and non-Hispanics (n=57,901).

Results indicate that, consistent with population-based injury data, the ED injury episode rate among Hispanics is about 76% of rate for non-Hispanics, or 100.0 vs. 132.3 per 1000 persons (p<.05). Notably, Hispanic ED injury episode rates were lower for patients below age 45 and for both males and females overall. Examination by race showed injury episode rates for white Hispanics to be lower than those of white non-Hispanics; however, among black persons, the injury episode rate for Hispanics was higher than for non-Hispanics, 332.6 vs. 185.8 per 1000 (p<.05).

There were fewer differences in illness episode visits. ED episode rates for illness overall were similar among Hispanics and non-Hispanics (220.2 and 219.5 per 1000 persons, respectively). However compared to non-Hispanics, the illness episode rate for Hispanics was 20% higher among middle-aged persons 45-64 years and about 20% lower among persons between 15 and 44 years. Illness episode rates were higher among black Hispanics compared to black non-Hispanics (751.3 and 401.6, respectively).

Use of new imputation strategy is helpful in providing national estimates of utilization for Hispanic and Latino populations.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss diffences in emergency department utilization by Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

Keywords: Hispanic, Emergency Department/Room

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 531.5 kb)