Is access to specialist assessment of chest pain equitable by age, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status? An enhanced ecological analysis.

ABSTRACT: To determine whether access to rapid access chest pain clinics of people with recent onset symptoms is equitable by age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender, according to need. Retrospective cohort study with ecological analysis. Patients referred from primary care to five rapid access chest pain clinics in secondary care, across England. Of 8647 patients aged ≥35 years referred to chest pain clinics with new-onset stable chest pain but no known cardiac history, 7570 with documented census ward codes, age, gender and ethnicity comprised the study group. Patients excluded were those with missing date of birth, gender or ethnicity (n=782) and those with missing census ward codes (n=295). Effects of age, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status on clinic attendance were calculated as

SUBMITTER: Sekhri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3378943 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature