Multimorbidity and healthcare utilization among Black Americans: A cross-sectional study.
Sangwoo Ahn, Marissa Bartmess, Lisa C Lindley
PMID 34935300WHAT IT FOUND
Black American adults with multimorbidity were over seven times more likely to visit a doctor and five times more likely to see a specialist than those without.
However, having multiple conditions was not associated with visiting a dentist. Employment reduced the odds of doctor visits.
Key findings
01Multimorbidity was a significant predictor of doctor and specialist visits, with odds ratios of 7.03 and 5.11 respectively.
02The presence of multimorbidity was not associated with dentist visits.
03Being employed was associated with decreased odds of a doctor visit (OR 0.25).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a public dataset from Connecticut, so the findings may not be representative of all Black Americans in the USA. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality between multimorbidity and healthcare utilization. The study did not compare Black Americans with multimorbidity to other racial groups with multimorbidity. Health insurance data did not specify the type of coverage, which limits understanding of dental care access barriers. The study did not assess the quality of the healthcare received, only the frequency of visits.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The original survey (CHCS) was sponsored by six foundations in Connecticut, including Aetna and the Connecticut Health Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that high healthcare utilization equates to high-quality or comprehensive care. The study shows that while patients with multimorbidity see doctors and specialists frequently, their dental needs may be neglected, and the quality of the medical care received was not measured.