Association Between Community Social Vulnerability and Preventable Hospitalizations

Rachel Hogg-Graham; Joseph A. Benitez; Mary E. Lacy; Joshua Bush; Juan Lang; Haritomane Nikolaou; Emily R. Clear; J. M. McCullough; Teresa M. Waters

doi:10.1177/10775587231197248

Association Between Community Social Vulnerability and Preventable Hospitalizations

Rachel Hogg-Graham, Joseph A. Benitez, Mary E. Lacy, Joshua Bush, Juan Lang, Haritomane Nikolaou, Emily R. Clear, J. M. McCullough, Teresa M. Waters

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Preventable hospitalizations are common and costly events that burden patients and our health care system. While research suggests that these events are strongly linked to ambulatory care access, emerging evidence suggests they may also be sensitive to a patient’s social, environmental, and economic conditions. This study examines the association between variations in social vulnerability and preventable hospitalization rates. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of county-level preventable hospitalization rates for 33 states linked with data from the 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Preventable hospitalizations were 40% higher in the most vulnerable counties compared with the least vulnerable. Adjusted regression results confirm the strong relationship between social vulnerability and preventable hospitalizations. Our results suggest wide variation in community-level preventable hospitalization rates, with robust evidence that variation is strongly related to a community’s social vulnerability. The human toll, societal cost, and preventability of these hospitalizations make understanding and mitigating these inequities a national priority.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	31-38
Number of pages	8
Journal	Medical Care Research and Review
Volume	81
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/10775587231197248
State	Published - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2023.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by grant number K01HS025494 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Funders	Funder number
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Keywords

preventable hospitalizations
social determinants of health
social vulnerability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health Policy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1177/10775587231197248

Cite this

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title = "Association Between Community Social Vulnerability and Preventable Hospitalizations",

abstract = "Preventable hospitalizations are common and costly events that burden patients and our health care system. While research suggests that these events are strongly linked to ambulatory care access, emerging evidence suggests they may also be sensitive to a patient{\textquoteright}s social, environmental, and economic conditions. This study examines the association between variations in social vulnerability and preventable hospitalization rates. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of county-level preventable hospitalization rates for 33 states linked with data from the 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Preventable hospitalizations were 40\% higher in the most vulnerable counties compared with the least vulnerable. Adjusted regression results confirm the strong relationship between social vulnerability and preventable hospitalizations. Our results suggest wide variation in community-level preventable hospitalization rates, with robust evidence that variation is strongly related to a community{\textquoteright}s social vulnerability. The human toll, societal cost, and preventability of these hospitalizations make understanding and mitigating these inequities a national priority.",

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AU - Benitez, Joseph A.

AU - Lacy, Mary E.

AU - Bush, Joshua

AU - Lang, Juan

AU - Nikolaou, Haritomane

AU - Clear, Emily R.

AU - McCullough, J. M.

AU - Waters, Teresa M.

PY - 2024/2

Y1 - 2024/2

N2 - Preventable hospitalizations are common and costly events that burden patients and our health care system. While research suggests that these events are strongly linked to ambulatory care access, emerging evidence suggests they may also be sensitive to a patient’s social, environmental, and economic conditions. This study examines the association between variations in social vulnerability and preventable hospitalization rates. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of county-level preventable hospitalization rates for 33 states linked with data from the 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Preventable hospitalizations were 40% higher in the most vulnerable counties compared with the least vulnerable. Adjusted regression results confirm the strong relationship between social vulnerability and preventable hospitalizations. Our results suggest wide variation in community-level preventable hospitalization rates, with robust evidence that variation is strongly related to a community’s social vulnerability. The human toll, societal cost, and preventability of these hospitalizations make understanding and mitigating these inequities a national priority.

AB - Preventable hospitalizations are common and costly events that burden patients and our health care system. While research suggests that these events are strongly linked to ambulatory care access, emerging evidence suggests they may also be sensitive to a patient’s social, environmental, and economic conditions. This study examines the association between variations in social vulnerability and preventable hospitalization rates. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of county-level preventable hospitalization rates for 33 states linked with data from the 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Preventable hospitalizations were 40% higher in the most vulnerable counties compared with the least vulnerable. Adjusted regression results confirm the strong relationship between social vulnerability and preventable hospitalizations. Our results suggest wide variation in community-level preventable hospitalization rates, with robust evidence that variation is strongly related to a community’s social vulnerability. The human toll, societal cost, and preventability of these hospitalizations make understanding and mitigating these inequities a national priority.

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KW - social determinants of health

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Association Between Community Social Vulnerability and Preventable Hospitalizations

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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