Racial Disparities in Type of Heart Failure and Hospitalization

Wei Chen Lee, Hani Serag, Robert L. Ohsfeldt, Karl Eschbach, Wissam Khalife, Mohamed Morsy, Kenneth D. Smith, Ben G. Raimer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and readmissions. Our study aimed to examine racial disparities in heart failure patients including onset, mortality, length of stay (LOS), direct costs, and readmission rates. This is a secondary data analysis. We analyzed the risk-adjusted inpatient data of all patients admitted with HF to one health academic center. We compared five health outcomes among three racial groups (white, black, and Hispanic). There were 1006 adult patients making 1605 visits from 10/01/2011 to 09/30/2015. Most black patients were admitted in younger age than other racial groups which indicates the needs for more public health preventions. With risk adjustments, the racial differences in LOS and readmission rates remain. We stratified health outcomes by race/ethnic and type of HF. The findings suggest that further studies to uncover underlying causes of these disparities are necessary. Using risk-adjusted hospitalization data allows for comparisons of quality of care across three racial groups. The study suggests that more prevention and protection services are needed for African American patients with heart failure.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)98-104
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume21
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 15 2019

Keywords

  • Health disparities
  • Heart failure
  • Length of stay
  • Readmission

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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