Journal article
Use of high- and low-value care among US adults by education levels
Family practice, v 40(4), pp 560-563
23 Nov 2023
PMID: 37543851
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Healthcare reform in the United States has focused on improving the value of health care, but there are some concerns about the inequitable delivery of value-based care.
We examine whether the receipt of high- and low-value care differs by education levels.
We employed a repeated cross-sectional study design using data from the 2010-2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Our outcomes included 8 high-value services across 3 categories and 9 low-value services across 3 categories. Our primary independent variable was education level: (i) no degree, (ii) high school diploma, and (iii) college graduate. We conducted a linear probability model while adjusting for individual-level characteristics and estimated the adjusted values of the outcomes for each education group.
In almost all services, the use of high-value care was greater among more educated adults than less educated adults. Compared to those with no degree, those with a college degree were significantly more likely to receive all high-value services except for HbA1c measurement, ranging from blood pressure measurement (4.5 percentage points [95% CI: 3.9-5.1]) to colorectal cancer screening (15.6 percentage points [95% CI: 13.9-17.3]). However, there were no consistent patterns of the use of low-value care by education levels.
Our findings suggest that more educated adults were more likely to receive high-value cancer screening, high-value diagnostic and preventive testing, and high-value diabetes care than less educated adults. These findings highlight the importance of implementing tailored policies to address education-based inequities in the delivery of high-value services in the United States.
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Details
- Title
- Use of high- and low-value care among US adults by education levels
- Creators
- Sungchul Park (Corresponding Author) - Drexel University, Health Management and PolicyAnn M Nguyen - Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
- Publication Details
- Family practice, v 40(4), pp 560-563
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001042809800001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85178495391
- Other Identifier
- 991020836818204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Primary Health Care