322187
Factors Associated with Ocular Healthcare Utilization among Hispanics: Results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
Monday, November 2, 2015
: 2:30 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
D Diane Zheng, MS,
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Laura A. McClure, MSPH,
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Byron Lam, MD,
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Zhu-Ming Zhang, MD, MPH, FAHA,
Epidemiological Cardiology Research Center (EPICARE), Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Division of Public Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC
David J. Lee, PhD,
Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Hispanics have been shown to have poor access to and utilization of healthcare, but few studies have evaluated ocular healthcare access and utilization among Hispanics. Using data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, we assessed the factors associated with ever receiving an eye exam, receiving an eye exam within the past 24 months, and difficulty receiving needed ocular care in the last 12 months. Poorer use of ocular healthcare services among Hispanics was found in the following: males ([OR=0.31; 95%CI: 0.18-0.53] for eye exam ever and [0.59; 0.43-0.80] for eye exam within the past 24 months), those without health insurance for any period of time (ORs ranging 0.19-0.53 for eye exam ever or past 24 months and 3.53-4.43 for difficulty receiving needed care), those with higher acculturation (difficulty receiving needed ocular care: OR=1.84; 95%CI: 1.03-3.30), and those with poor or very poor self-rated vision health (ever eye exam: OR=0.26; 95%CI: 0.12-0.56). In addition, those with more than a high school education were more likely to have ever received an eye exam (OR=4.20; 95%CI: 2.12-8.30 compared to < high school education). Our results indicate that a key target for increasing access to and use of ocular healthcare among Hispanics must include increasing health and vision insurance coverage as this was an important predictor in all outcomes assessed.
Learning Areas:
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe the prevalence of ocular healthcare utilization among Hispanics.
Discuss the factors associated with lack of ocular healthcare use or difficulty getting ocular care among Hispanics.
Evaluate the important targets of intervention to increase ocular healthcare use among Hispanics.
Keyword(s): Minority Health, Vision Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an experienced biostatistican and have worked with Dr. David Lee as part of his vision research team at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine for the past 10 years. I am well familiar with the literature on visual impairment and have worked on multiple studies using the dataset from the Hispanic Community Health Study from which this abstract is drawn.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines,
and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed
in my presentation.
