Racial and Ethnic Differences in Poison Center Utilization Público
Spain, Gregory (2011)
Published
Abstract
Past research has shown that poison centers can significantly
impact both health
outcomes and health care costs when they are involved in the care
of a
suspected poisoning victim. The centers are able to help
effectively manage a
large number of suspected poisoning cases in the home, as well as
to more
rapidly and appropriately treat those with toxic exposures that do
need the
aid of a medical provider. Past research has also shown that there
may be
underutilization of poison center services by racial and ethnic
minorities,
who may be at increased risk for poisonings and complications of
poisoning
due to sociodemographic and genetic factors. To date though, there
has been
no direct measure of minority poison center utilization as racial
and ethnic
information is not typically gathered. This study is the first
known effort to
directly measure minority utilization.
Over a six month period a convenience sample of callers
contacting the Georgia
Poison Center were asked about the racial and ethnic background of
the
suspected poisoning victim. These data were then compared against
U.S.
Census data to estimate relative utilization of poison center
services. The
study data support the hypothesis that racial minorities contact
the poison
center at a lesser rate than would be expected based on local
demographics.
Hispanics, the lone ethnic minority evaluated, were not shown to
be
underutilizing services though when compared to non-Hispanics.
Comparisons were also made between groups concerning
demographics and the
spectrum of toxins implicated. Gender, age and poisoning
intent
classification were generally concordant between the groups.
Overall there
was also great similarity in the implicated toxin categories, with
a few
specific areas of deviation which may be of interest for future
study.
The study was limited by the non random nature of the sample
data gathered. In
comparing the demographics and substance spectrum of the study
sample
with that of the overall Georgia Poison Center population, as well
as national
poison statistics, it was shown that the sample may be fairly
representative,
and thus this pilot study provides a solid argument for continuing
to explore
this area of research.
Table of Contents
Introduction p-1 Methods p-17 Results p-21 Discussion p-23 References p-31 Tables and Figures Table 1 - U.S Racial/Ethnic Breakdown p-34
Table 2 - Ga & Study Racial/Ethnic Breakdown
p-35 Table 3 - Standard GPC Data Set p-36 Table 4 - Data set demographics p-37 Figure 1 - Gender Distribution p-38 Figure 2 - Age Distribution p-39 Figure 3 - Toxin Spectrum - Data Set Comparison p-40 Table 5 - Racial/Ethnic Demographics p-41Figure 4 - Age distribution - Racial/Ethnic Comparison
p-42 Figure 5 - Toxin Spectrum - Racial Comparison p-43Figure 6 - Toxin Spectrum - Ethnic comparison
p-44About this Master's Thesis
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