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Health Disparities in Critical Illness

  • Chapter
Book cover Health Disparities in Respiratory Medicine

Part of the book series: Respiratory Medicine ((RM))

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Abstract

The factors that lead to health disparities in critical illness are similar to those found in the general population, but the sequelae are magnified. The combined effects of diminished access to high-quality care, less preventive services, and a higher burden of chronic disease among the disadvantaged create a perfect storm that necessitates the highest level of acute care. To complicate matters further, high-quality critical care is expensive and scarce. It is no surprise, therefore, that in the United States of America, uninsured critically ill patients have a higher mortality rate compared to insured patients of similar severity of illness. Studies have begun to untangle the complex mechanisms at work in creating health disparities among the critically ill. Future studies will need to develop and evaluate the effect of targeted interventions on reducing health disparities in this population. It is quite possible that eliminating health disparities may have a significant effect on improving the quality and duration of life for those affected while reducing health expenditures for society as a whole.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, The MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Daniel Monroy Chaves M.D.

  2. Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine and Center for Reducing Health Disparities, The MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44109, USA

    John Daryl Thornton M.D., M.P.H.

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  1. Daniel Monroy Chaves M.D.
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Correspondence to John Daryl Thornton M.D., M.P.H. .

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  1. Arizona Respiratory Center and Departmen, University of Arizona Arizona Respiratory Center and Departmen, TUCSON, Arizona, USA

    Lynn B. Gerald

  2. Arizona Respiratory Center and Departmen, University of Arizona Arizona Respiratory Center and Departmen, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    Cristine E. Berry

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Chaves, D.M., Thornton, J.D. (2016). Health Disparities in Critical Illness. In: Gerald, L., Berry, C. (eds) Health Disparities in Respiratory Medicine. Respiratory Medicine. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23675-9_13

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