Rob Dillard

DocwireNews

<p>African-Americans living in major US cities suffer a disparity in geographic access to trauma centers (&ldquo;trauma deserts&rdquo;), according to a new <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2727264?utm_source=JAMA_Network&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_term=030819">study</a> published in <em>JAMA.</em><p>In this cross-sectional study, researchers assessed 3,932 census tracts from the 2015 American Community Survey in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Between February and September 2018, they conducted small-area analyses to appraise trauma desert status, defined as a travel distance greater than 8.0 km to the nearest adult level I or II trauma center, as a function of neighborhood racial/ethnic structure. Moreover, the researchers used geospatial analyses, identified using travel distance as a perpetual measure, to examine the statistically significant trauma desert areas. The study&rsquo;s census tracts were categorized by racial/ethnic composition, based on patterns of residential segregation, including white majority, black majority, Hispanic/Latino majority, integrated or other, and poverty. It also included poverty categories, including nonpoor and poor.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Study: Urban <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/African?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#African</a>-Americans more likely to live in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/trauma?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#trauma</a> deserts <a href="https://twitter.com/JAMA_current?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JAMA_current</a> <a href="https://t.co/czDp00TZ5W">https://t.co/czDp00TZ5W</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Medical Xpress (@physorg_health) <a href="https://twitter.com/physorg_health/status/1104060414202183682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2019</a></p>
</blockquote><p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p><h2><strong>A Racial Divide in Access </strong></h2><p>In primary analyses, the study results showed that black majority census tracts were far more likely to be in a trauma desert than white majority census tracts in Chicago (OR=8.48, 95% CI, 5.71 to 12.59), and Los Angeles (OR=5.11; 95% CI, 1.50 to 17.39). In New York, racial/ethnic disparities were not notable in unadjusted models but were significant in models that adjusted for poverty and race-poverty interaction effects (adjusted OR=1.87; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.74). Moreover, Hispanic/Latino majority census tracts, by comparison, were less likely to be located in a trauma desert in New York (OR=0.03; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.11) and Los Angeles (OR=0.30; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.40), while slightly more likely to be located in a trauma desert in Chicago (OR=2.38; 95% CI, 1.56 to 3.64).</p><p>&ldquo;Even though we had a sense that this was a racially divided issue, the data confirmed that this was the case in a significant way,&rdquo; said study author Monica Peek, MD, MPH, an associate professor of medicine and health disparities researcher, in a <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/uocm-sua030819.php">press release</a> adding that &ldquo;it was pretty startling.&rdquo;</p><h2><strong>Chicago Center Strives to Make Change</strong></h2><p>Recently, the University of Chicago Medicine&rsquo;s trauma center, which opened 10 months ago on its Hyde Park Medical campus, has perceptibly reduced the odds of black residents being located farther away from trauma care by a factor of almost seven.</p><p>&ldquo;Since we opened the trauma center nearly one year ago in May, the disparity in access to adult trauma care has significantly lessened for African-Americans in Chicago,&rdquo; said Selwyn Rogers, Jr., MD, MPH, professor of surgery and the director of University of Chicago Medicine&rsquo;s trauma center, in a press release. &ldquo;The University of Chicago Medicine ceased offering adult trauma services in 1988 before announcing it would resume the program in 2015 amid community behests. The hospital constructed a new adult emergency department in 2017, and subsequently, re-launched adult trauma services five months later following regulatory approval.</p><p>Researchers hope their findings underscore the ongoing impact of structural inequality in US cities.</p><p>&ldquo;[The] planning for new trauma centers, which requires a significant financial investment, should include an assessment of how a new facility can help address racial equity,&rdquo; they wrote.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cool research from <a href="https://twitter.com/selwyn_rogers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@selwyn_rogers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMonicaPeek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrMonicaPeek</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UChicagoMed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UChicagoMed</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/uchicagosurgery?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@uchicagosurgery</a> on racial disparities in access to trauma care in urban centers. The maps tell the story. If UChicago hadn't opened a trauma center last year, these disparities would be even more severe in Chicago. <a href="https://t.co/mW66iiguM9">https://t.co/mW66iiguM9</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Charles Liu (@chasliu) <a href="https://twitter.com/chasliu/status/1104279360733831168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2019</a></p>
</blockquote><p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Urban African-Americans More Likely to Live in Trauma Deserts, Says Study &ndash; <a href="https://t.co/GlS7twRLqW">https://t.co/GlS7twRLqW</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Drugnews.in (@drugnewsin) <a href="https://twitter.com/drugnewsin/status/1104713798034833409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2019</a></p>
</blockquote><p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></p>


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African-Americans in Major US Cities are More Likely to Live in ‘Trauma Deserts’

Health & Wellness

African-Americans living in major US cities suffer a disparity in geographic access to trauma centers (“trauma deserts”), according to a new study published in JAMA. ...

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