Socioeconomic Factors In Healthcare

What does this refer to

• Recognizing the barriers that people in the community may face due to low income, age and lack of healthcare insurance.

• Consider offering services to clinics in poorly served regions.

• Remembering that demographic factors like age, gender and population affect disease transmission. Household composition (like the presence of children) can impact disease within the household.

• Monitoring disease trends, identifying disease risk factors, timely interventions, considering urban environment, and even thinking about food insecurity. Patient may need info regarding food banks/

Clinician Role

What significantly influences healthcare access, quality and outcomes affecting individuals and communities differently. Individuals with higher socioeconomic status (SES) tend to have lower mortality rates, live longer and experience few chronic diseases.

Socioeconomic status

____________ are linked to poorer health outcomes including increased rates of chronic diseases, mental health issues and premature death.

Low income, limited education and inadequate housing

What does this refer to

• Access to resources, opportunities and environmental conditions that impact health.

Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) factors

What does this refer to

• Encompass a wide range of factors that impact health:

• Housing Transportation

• Education Access to healthy foods

• Employment Social support

What does this refer to

• Individuals with _______ can face barriers such has limited financial resources for insurance premiums, co-pays and transportation.

• Less likely to receive preventive care leading to poorer health outcomes and potentially more complex and costly medical needs later on.

• More likely to experience a wide range of health problems including chronic diseases like CAD, DM and HTN.

• Mental health issues due to financial insecurity, poor living conditions, limited access to social services and higher rates of anxiety/depression.

Lower Socioeconomic Status

What does this refer to

• Increased risk of premature death due to chronic illness or violence.

• There is a heavier disease burden as people do not age gracefully. This is global, no restricted to the US. Concern of people living longer, but not necessarily living a healthy life

• The wealth-health gradient becomes more pronounced as people age.

• Healthy aging needs to be a primary goal of modern medicine.

• In one study 50,000 people reported cost as a major factor for not obtaining needed care

Continued Lower SES

_________ are disproportionally higher in the low socioeconomic areas due to limited access to healthcare, increased exposure to violence and lack of trauma centers. Penetrating trauma is 2.5 times higher.

Trauma related deaths

Children in ____________ are more likely to die from fire/flame injuries, pedestrian injuries, falls and increased risk due to firearms.

low socioeconomic area

What does this refer to

• There is a projected deficit of 86.000 physicians by 2036 according to the Associates of America Medical Colleges. Especially in primary care and surgery.

• Deficit is expected to worsen as the population ages.

• Rural areas all over the US are particularly vulnerable to the shortage.

How Can We as PAs Help to Fix This

What does this refer to

• We need to ready to fill those roles. US Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects a 28% increase in PA employment by the year 2033, adding approx. 44,000 jobs.

• Willingness to go places to promote healthy living. Students can try to get involved with healthcare screenings. Remember, patients with HTN and DM may be asymptomatic and these screenings can be beneficial.

Responsibility of PAs

What does this refer to

• For those with _________, they may not understand the difference in a co-pay, deductible and maximum out of pocket expenses (usually each calendar year).

• Medicare, usually for those 65 or older, patients with ESRD or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

• Medicaid. KCHIP (Ky Children’s Health Insurance Program)

Insurance