Use of emergency departments among working age adults with disabilities: a problem of access and service needs.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To examine the relationship between emergency department (ED) use and access to medical care and prescription medications among working age Americans with disabilities.

Data source

Pooled data from the 2006-2008 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), a U.S. health survey representative of community-dwelling civilians.

Study design

We compared the health and service utilization of two groups of people with disabilities to a contrast group without disability. We modeled ED visits on the basis of disability status, measures of health and health conditions, access to care, and sociodemographics.

Data extraction

These variables were aggregated from the household component, the medical condition, and event files to provide average annual estimates for the

SUBMITTER: Rasch EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3724353 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature