Accounting for Apparent "Reverse" Racial Disparities in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-Based Medical Care: Influence of Out-of-VA Care

Conclusions regarding racial differences in care following a newly elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may differ depending on whether follow-up care outside the VA is considered. Consecutive Philadelphia, Pa, VA patients with newly elevated PSA t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican journal of public health (1971) Vol. 94; no. 12; pp. 2076 - 2078
Main Authors Gurmankin, Andrea D, Polsky, Daniel, Volpp, Kevin G
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Washington, DC Am Public Health Assoc 01.12.2004
American Public Health Association
American Journal of Public Health 2004
Subjects
African Americans
Aged
Ambulatory care
Antigens
Biological and medical sciences
Biopsy
Biopsy, Needle
Black or African American
Black People - statistics & numerical data
Health care
Hospitals, Veterans - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Inequality
Male
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Mortality
Patients
Prostate - pathology
Prostate cancer
Prostate-Specific Antigen - blood
Prostatic Neoplasms - diagnosis
Prostatic Neoplasms - ethnology
Public health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Race
Racial differences
Referral and Consultation
Research and Practice
Stroke
United States
Urology
Veterans
White people
White People - statistics & numerical data
United States
North America
America
Human
Health insurance
Urinary system disease
Prostate disease
Attitude
Male
Malignant tumor
Medical screening
Ethnic group
Care
Medicine
Interindividual comparison
Race
Disparity
Veteran
Male genital diseases
Prostate cancer
Public health
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Conclusions regarding racial differences in care following a newly elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) may differ depending on whether follow-up care outside the VA is considered. Consecutive Philadelphia, Pa, VA patients with newly elevated PSA tests (n = 183) were interviewed 1 year after baseline. Among exclusive VA users, Blacks had higher rates of urology referrals and prostate biopsies compared with Whites. However, these racial differences were attenuated when care obtained outside the VA also was considered.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
Contributors…A. D. Gurmankin initiated, developed, and implemented all aspects of the study and led the data analysis and writing of the brief. D. Polsky helped to formulate the study aims. K. G. Volpp supervised all aspects of the study, including study design and data analysis. All authors helped to conceptualize ideas, interpret the results, and review drafts of the brief.
Peer Reviewed
Requests for reprints should be sent to Andrea D. Gurmankin, PhD, MBe, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney St, SM 253, Boston, MA 02115 (e-mail: adg11@cornell.edu).
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.94.12.2076