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Comparative Study
. 2009 Dec;44(6):2022-39.
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2009.01020.x. Epub 2009 Sep 2.

Variation in emergency department wait times for children by race/ethnicity and payment source

Christine Y Park  1 , Mary Alice Lee, Andrew J Epstein
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Variation in emergency department wait times for children by race/ethnicity and payment source

Christine Y Park et al. Health Serv Res. 2009 Dec.

Abstract

Objective: To quantify the variation in emergency department (ED) wait times by patient race/ethnicity and payment source, and to divide the overall association into between- and within-hospital components.

Data source: 2005 and 2006 National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys.

Study design: Linear regression was used to analyze the independent associations between race/ethnicity, payment source, and ED wait times in a pooled cross-sectional design. A hybrid fixed effects specification was used to measure the between- and within-hospital components.

Data extraction methods: Data were limited to children under 16 years presenting at EDs.

Principal results: Unadjusted and adjusted ED wait times were significantly longer for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children than for non-Hispanic white children. Children in EDs with higher shares of non-Hispanic black and Hispanic children waited longer. Moreover, Hispanic children waited 10.4 percent longer than non-Hispanic white children when treated at the same hospital. ED wait times for children did not vary significantly by payment source.

Conclusions: There are sizable racial/ethnic differences in children's ED wait times that can be attributed to both the racial/ethnic mix of children in EDs and to differential treatment by race/ethnicity inside the ED.

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