Acute Respiratory and Cardiovascular Outcomes Associated with Low Levels of Ambient Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) on the Island of Oahu

Scant literature exists regarding health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution at or below national standards. This study examined the relationship between PM2.5 and acute care use and costs in Honolulu where PM2.5 is low. Single and distributed lag over-dispersed Poisson models were used to examine hospitalizations/emergency department (ED) visits associated with cumulative PM2.5 exposure over the current day and seven previous days (lags 0-7) in 2011. A 10-µg/m3 increase in cumulative PM2.5 concentration was associated with a 32% increase in respiratory admissions (RR=1.32, p=0.001) costing $486,908 and a 24$117,856. Additional research is needed on health effects within pollution lower levels

Inpatient Hospitalization Costs: A Comparative Study of Micronesians, Native Hawaiians, Japanese, and Whites in Hawai‘i

Considerable interest exists in health care costs for the growing Micronesian population in the United States (US) due to their significant health care needs, poor average socioeconomic status, and unique immigration status, which impacts their access to public health care coverage. Using Hawai‘i statewide impatient data from 2010 to 2012 for Micronesians, whites, Japanese, and Native Hawaiians (N = 162,152 hospitalizations), we compared inpatient hospital costs across racial/ethnic groups using multivariable models including age, gender, payer, residence location, and severity of illness (SOI). We also examined total inpatient hospital costs of Micronesians generally and for Medicaid specifically. Costs were estimated using standard cost-to-charge metrics overall and within nine major disease categories determined by All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups. Micronesians had higher unadjusted hospitalization costs overall and specifically within several disease categories (including infectious and heart diseases). Higher SOI in Micronesians explained some, but not all, of these higher costs. The total cost of the 3486 Micronesian hospitalizations in the three-year study period was $58.1 million and 75% was covered by Medicaid; 23% of Native Hawaiian, 3% of Japanese, and 15% of white hospitalizations costs were covered by Medicaid. These findings may be of particular interests to hospitals, Medicaid programs, and policy makers

Illness Severity and Psychiatric Hospitalization Rates Among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

OBJECTIVE: The study objective was to fill research gaps about inpatient psychiatric service utilization among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AA/PIs). METHODS: Rates of psychiatric hospitalization, illness severity, and length of stay were compared among AA/PI adults overall and across diagnoses (schizophrenia, depression, bipolar, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders identified by All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups) by using discharge data from all hospitalizations in Hawaii from December 2006 to 2010. Multivariable models adjusted for gender, age, payer, and residence. RESULTS: In multivariable analyses of total psychiatric hospitalizations, Chinese (rate ratio [RR]=.22), Japanese (RR=.23), Filipinos (RR=.30), and Native Hawaiians (RR=.37) had significantly lower rates than whites. Native Hawaiians had significantly higher hospitalization rates compared with other AA/PI groups. Length of stay was significantly longer for Chinese (length of stay ratio [LOSR]=1.53), Filipinos (LOSR=1.20), and Japanese (LOSR=1.19) compared with whites, whereas severity of illness was significantly higher for Japanese (odds ratio [OR]=1.36) and Filipinos (OR=1.30). Within specific diagnoses, Native Hawaiians had higher hospitalization rates than other AA/PI groups for depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorder. Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos had significantly higher illness severity or longer stays than whites for at least one diagnostic category. CONCLUSIONS: AA/PI subgroups had lower psychiatric hospitalization rates than whites, but rates varied across AA/PI subgroups. Native Hawaiians had higher hospitalization rates for many diagnoses. Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos had greater illness severity or longer stays than whites overall and for some diagnoses, whereas Native Hawaiians did not. Disaggregating AA/PI groups provides important insight into mental health services utilization and need

Additional file 1: of Maternal risk factors and perinatal outcomes among pacific islander groups in Hawaii: a retrospective cohort study using statewide hospital data

Maternal outcomes. Diagnoses with respective ICD-9 codes. (DOCX 42 kb

Enhancing Clinical Content and Race/Ethnicity Data in Statewide Hospital Administrative Databases: Obstacles Encountered, Strategies Adopted, and Lessons Learned.

ObjectivesEight grant teams used Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality infrastructure development research grants to enhance the clinical content of and improve race/ethnicity identifiers in statewide all-payer hospital administrative databases.Principal findingsGrantees faced common challenges, including recruiting data partners and ensuring their continued effective participation, acquiring and validating the accuracy and utility of new data elements, and linking data from multiple sources to create internally consistent enhanced administrative databases. Successful strategies to overcome these challenges included aggressively engaging with providers of critical sources of data, emphasizing potential benefits to participants, revising requirements to lessen burdens associated with participation, maintaining continuous communication with participants, being flexible when responding to participants' difficulties in meeting program requirements, and paying scrupulous attention to preparing data specifications and creating and implementing protocols for data auditing, validation, cleaning, editing, and linking. In addition to common challenges, grantees also had to contend with unique challenges from local environmental factors that shaped the strategies they adopted.ConclusionsThe creation of enhanced administrative databases to support comparative effectiveness research is difficult, particularly in the face of numerous challenges with recruiting data partners such as competing demands on information technology resources. Excellent communication, flexibility, and attention to detail are essential ingredients in accomplishing this task. Additional research is needed to develop strategies for maintaining these databases when initial funding is exhausted

Comparison of Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations Related to Diabetes Among Native Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese Elderly Compared with Whites, Hawai‘i, December 2006–December 2010

Introduction Approximately 25% of individuals aged 65 years or older in the United States have diabetes mellitus. Diabetes rates in this age group are higher for Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AA/PI) than for whites. We examined racial/ethnic differences in diabetes-related potentially preventable hospitalizations (DRPH) among people aged 65 years or older for Japanese, Chinese, Filipinos, Native Hawaiians, and whites. Methods Discharge data for hospitalizations in Hawai‘i for people aged 65 years or older from December 2006 through December 2010 were compared. Annual rates of DRPH by patient were calculated for each racial/ethnic group by sex. Rate ratios (RRs) were calculated relative to whites. Multivariable models controlling for insurer, comorbidity, diabetes prevalence, age, and residence location provided final adjusted rates and RRs. Results A total of 1,815 DRPH were seen from 1,515 unique individuals. Unadjusted RRs for DRPH by patient were less than1 in all AA/PI study groups compared with whites, but were highest among Native Hawaiians and Filipinos. In fully adjusted models accounting for higher diabetes prevalence in AA/PI groups, Native Hawaiian (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] = 1.59), Filipino (aRR = 2.26), and Japanese (aRR = 1.86) men retained significantly higher rates of diabetes-related potentially preventable hospitalizations than whites, as did Filipino women (aRR = 1.61). Conclusion Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Japanese men and Filipino women aged 65 years or older have a higher risk than whites for DRPH. Health care providers and public health programs for elderly patients should consider effective programs to reduce potentially preventable hospitalizations among Native Hawaiian, Filipino, and Japanese men and Filipino women aged 65 years or older