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Trends in avoidable hospitalizations for children in Florida from 1992 to 2003

Etienne Pracht1, Barbara Langland-Orban

  • 1Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA. epracht@hsc.usf.edu

Journal for Healthcare Quality : Official Publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality
|May 1, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Improved public health insurance access following the Balanced Budget Act led to fewer avoidable hospitalizations for children, especially nonwhite youth. Adult hospitalization rates, however, generally increased, indicating complex healthcare access trends.

Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Health Services Research
  • Health Economics

Background:

  • The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 aimed to expand public health insurance.
  • Improved access to healthcare is hypothesized to reduce avoidable hospitalizations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine trends in avoidable hospitalizations in Florida from 1992-2003.
  • To determine if post-1997 public health insurance expansions decreased hospitalization rates, particularly for children (0-19 years).

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of Florida inpatient discharge data sets (1992-2003).
  • Utilized descriptive and linear regression methods to analyze trends.
  • Compared hospitalization rates between children and adults (20-64 years).

Main Results:

  • A significant decline in avoidable hospitalizations was observed for black and other nonwhite children.
  • Declines in children's rates were concentrated in age groups 0-1, 5-9, and 10-14 years.
  • Adult hospitalization rates generally increased, except for nonwhite and black populations.

Conclusions:

  • The overall decline in avoidable hospitalizations for children suggests increased healthcare expenditures were partially offset.
  • The study could not directly attribute the observed trends to the Balanced Budget Act.
  • Findings highlight disparities in healthcare access and outcomes among different demographic groups.

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