Details:

Alternative Title:
Prev Chronic Dis
Publisher's site:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.150057
Personal Author:
Heo, Hyun-Hee ; Sentell, Tetine L. ; Li, Dongmei ; Ahn, Hyeong Jun ; Miyamura, Jill ; ... More +
Heo, Hyun-Hee ; Sentell, Tetine L. ; Li, Dongmei ; Ahn, Hyeong Jun ; Miyamura, Jill ; Braun, Kathryn ; Less -
Description:
Introduction Korean Americans are a growing but understudied population group in the United States. High rates of potentially preventable hospitalizations suggest that primary care is underutilized. We compared preventable hospitalizations for chronic conditions in aggregate and for congestive heart failure (CHF) for Korean Americans and whites in Hawaii. Methods Discharge data from 2010 to 2012 for all hospitalizations of adults in Hawaii for preventable hospitalizations in aggregate and for CHF included 4,345 among Korean Americans and 81,570 among whites. Preventable hospitalization rates for chronic conditions and CHF were calculated for Korean Americans and whites by sex and age group (18–64 y vs ≥65 y). Unadjusted rate ratios for Korean Americans were calculated relative to whites. Multivariate models, controlling for insurance type and comorbidity, provided adjusted rate ratios (aRRs). Results Korean American women and men aged 65 or older were at greater risk of preventable hospitalization overall than white women (aRR, 2.48; P = .003) and white men (aRR, 1.82; P = .049). Korean American men aged 65 or older also were at greater risk of hospitalization for CHF relative to white men (aRR, 1.87; P = .04) and for older Korean American women (aRR, 1.75; P = .07). Younger age groups did not differ significantly. Conclusion Older Korean American patients may have significant disparities in preventable hospitalizations, which suggests poor access to or poor quality of primary health care. Improving primary care for Korean Americans may prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, improve quality of life for Korean Americans with chronic illness, and reduce health care costs.
Subject:
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Original Research

Source:
Prev Chronic Dis. 12. ;
Pubmed ID:
26378898
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC4576508
Document Type:
Journal Article ;
Collection(s):
Preventing Chronic Disease
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:41d408c5597d9a9f79588f17132cbced5abe6cefb593c078196146768f0f78f5
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	license.txt	txt
  	PCD-12-E152.nxml	txt

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