Disparities by race and insurance-status in declines in pediatric ED utilization during the COVID19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) utilization in the U.S. saw large declines during the COVID19 pandemic. What is relatively unexplored is whether the extent of declines differed by race and insurance status. An observational study was conducted using electronic medical record (EMR) data from the largest pediatric ED in Alabama for 2020 and 2019. The four subgroups of interest were African-American (AA), Non-Hispanic White (NHW), privately insured (PRIVATE), and publicly insured or self-insured (PUBLIC-SELF). Percentage changes in the 7-day moving average between dates in 2020 and 2019 were computed for total and high-severity ED visits by subgroup. Trends in percentage changes were plotted. T-tests were used to compare mean changes between subgroups. Large percentage declines in total E

SUBMITTER: Sen BP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8827414 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature