Comparing methods of racial and ethnic disparities measurement across different settings of mental health care.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The ability to track improvement against racial/ethnic disparities in mental health care is hindered by the varying methods and disparity definitions used in previous research.

Data

Nationally representative sample of whites, blacks, and Latinos from the 2002 to 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Dependent variables are total, outpatient, and prescription drug mental health care expenditure.

Methods

Rank- and propensity score-based methods concordant with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) definition of health care disparities were compared with commonly used disparities methods. To implement the IOM definition, we modeled expenditures using a two-part GLM, adjusted distributions of need variables, and predicted expenditures for each racial/ethnic group.

SUBMITTER: Le Cook B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2875762 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature