ArticleHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2024
Healthcare Access and County-Level COVID-19 Mortality: Exploring the Impact of Hospital Proximity and Uninsurance Rates.
Article in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Classifying healthcare facilities as predictors of COVID-19 mortality rates in US counties (2020-2021).Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesMany social and environmental factors contribute to the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 mortality. Access to healthcare services has not been thoroughly examined as a factor contributing to COVID-19 mortality. This study examines distance to ERs and ICUs, uninsurance rates, and county-level COVID-19 mortality rates.
methodsUsing data from the American Hospital Association survey, we identified hospitals providing emergency and intensive care services. Hospital locations were geocoded, and straight-line distance was calculated from the population-weighted county centroid. The county proportion of uninsured residents came from the American Community Survey. Generalized linear regression models with a log-link were used to examine study factors and county COVID-19 mortality rates.
resultsA total of 2640 (84.0%) U.S. counties or county-equivalents were included in this analysis. The median COVID-19 mortality rate was 240 deaths per 100,000. In adjusted models, increasing distance to ERs (IRR: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.92, 0.98) or ICUs (IRR: 0.61; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.65) was not significantly associated with increased COVID-19 mortality. The proportion of residents (IRR: 3.81; CI: 2.58, 5.62) uninsured was significantly associated with increased COVID-19 mortality rates.
conclusionsBeing in close proximity to hospital-based healthcare services may not provide any significant benefit for COVID-19 mortality outcomes, considering that hospitals are largely located in more densely populated areas conducive to COVID-19 spread. Financial barriers may largely contribute to persons avoiding necessary COVID-19 care. To continue to combat COVID-19 and future pandemics, greater attention should be focused on eliminating financial barriers to receiving medically necessary care.
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