ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Socioeconomic Disparities in Otolaryngology: No Easy Explanations, No Easy Answers

by Pippa Wysong • June 1, 2008

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version

If anyone has a sense of how socioeconomic status (SES) affects the health of patients, it is Urjeet A. Patel, MD. His head and neck surgery practice is divided between two centers that represent patients from quite different walks of life: Northwestern University Hospital and John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, both in Chicago. The former is a prestigious university medical center that attracts people from around the globe, whereas the latter is a well-known public hospital that serves as a safety-net facility for uninsured or underinsured patients.

You Might Also Like

  • Socioeconomic Factors in Allergic Fungal Rhinosinusitis with Bone Erosion
  • Children from Lower Socioeconomic Backgrounds More Likely to Present with Most Severe Complications of ABS
  • Reimbursement and Outcome Measurement in Otolaryngology Practices: What the Government Can Do to You and for You
  • Medicare Battle Heats Up: Geographic Disparities spark look into spending variation
Explore This Issue
June 2008

Seeing patients in different hospital systems gives me good perspective on some of the socioeconomics that affect our patients at Cook County, Dr. Patel told ENT Today. Dr. Patel, Assistant Professor at Northwestern University and Chair of Otolaryngology at Cook County Hospital, is involved in a number of studies looking at patient compliance and health as they relate to socioeconomic issues.

In one study, recently published in Laryngoscope, Dr. Patel and colleagues looked at compliance to radiation therapy in head and neck cancer patients at the Cook County hospital. The study population consisted largely of people who were unemployed, minorities, and presented late with disease. The study found that only 10% of the patients complied fully with radiation treatments, with the remainder missing half or more treatments. However, SES factors such as ethnicity, sex, and primary tumor status did not predict who would be compliant.

Figure. Uninsured and underinsured patients tend to present late with disease, have difficulty accessing specialty care, and have poorer outcomes than well-insured patients.

click for large version
Figure. Uninsured and underinsured patients tend to present late with disease, have difficulty accessing specialty care, and have poorer outcomes than well-insured patients.

Dr. Patel pointed out that the study did not specifically address insurance status, but noted that 40% to 50% of the hospital’s patients are either uninsured or underinsured. He suspects that insurance status may be a big factor in patients not coming in for the treatments they need.

Various studies in the medical literature show that uninsured and underinsured patients tend to present late with disease, have difficulty accessing specialist care, and generally have poorer outcomes than patients with good insurance coverage, he said. That factor alone may be the biggest SES factor with these patients. Dr. Patel plans to look specifically at this and related issues in future studies to help get a better handle on what this means in otolaryngologic cancer patients.

SES factors such as race, education, sex, ethnicity, and income, undeniably have impacts on people’s health too. Race can be linked to genetic risks, or even to perceived or real prejudices; being male or female may increase the risk for certain medical conditions; ethnicity and culture could influence a patient’s attitude toward getting medical care; and low income can be tied in to various barriers to accessing health care, such as not being able to afford to get to medical appointments. Understanding how each of these factors can influence patient health and patterns for accessing care are all important areas to study in otolaryngology, said Dr. Patel.

Insurance Status as Predictor of Health Status

But insurance status may well be the biggest predictor of both individual and population health-making it an important SES area to study.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 | Single Page

Filed Under: Departments, Head and Neck, Health Policy, Laryngology, Medical Education, Practice Focus, Practice Management, Rhinology Tagged With: cancer, carcinoma, culture, healthcare reform, insurance, patient communication, patient compliance, policy, research, rhinosinusistis, socioeconomic, surgeryIssue: June 2008

You Might Also Like:

  • Socioeconomic Factors in Allergic Fungal Rhinosinusitis with Bone Erosion
  • Children from Lower Socioeconomic Backgrounds More Likely to Present with Most Severe Complications of ABS
  • Reimbursement and Outcome Measurement in Otolaryngology Practices: What the Government Can Do to You and for You
  • Medicare Battle Heats Up: Geographic Disparities spark look into spending variation

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists
    • How to Embrace Optimism in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Tips on How to Approach Conversations with Patients about the COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Voice and Hearing During Telemedicine Sessions
    • Routine Postoperative Adjunct Treatments Unnecessary for Idiopathic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Polls

Have you spoken with your patients about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.