Whether they’re walking through a clinic or downloading a health app, patients are often asked to provide personal information, including demographic data. The collection of this information helps physicians to better understand their patient’s background and situation, which can then be used to guide treatment decisions. For example, ACE inhibitors are a common drug to treat hypertension, but African-American patients have a higher chance of developing kidney disease when taking the medication compared with white people.
Prior research has shown that geographic access to healthcare is associated with increased usage and improved outcomes. However, the extent to which this relationship is influenced by location demographics is unclear.
This article explores how changes in neighborhood-level healthcare facility presence differ by the race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status of residents over a 15-year period. The analysis uses longitudinal multinomial regression models to estimate associations between change in healthcare facilities and a variety of demographic and economic characteristics.
The results show that a growing number of neighborhoods have gained ambulatory care facilities, while others lost these types of facilities between 2000 and 2014. Census tracts with more residents living below the poverty line or with a high school diploma or less were less likely to gain pharmacies and drugstores. In contrast, CTs with more residents covered by Medicare or other forms of government assistance were more likely to lose these types of facilities. The results also indicate that a decline in private insurance coverage is associated with decreased odds of gaining healthcare facilities. healthcare usage by location demographic