The long-term goal of this project is to characterize racial disparities in outcomes and healthcare utilization in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a chronic debilitating condition that afflicts more than a million Americans. Even though the incidence of IBD in African Americans approaches that of whites, it is understudied in minority populations. This multi-center cross-sectional and longitudinal study will recruit 200 African American and 400 age- and disease subtype-matched white IBD patients and comprises of the following specific aims: (1)To quantify racial disparities between African Americans and whites in IBD disease severity and health-related quality of life and to elucidate their social determinants; (2)To determine the influence of race and socioeconomic factors on IBD health utilization and quality of care, while adjusting for disease severity and comorbidity. Multivariate regression models will be used to determined the independent effect of race on outcomes while adjusting for socioeconomic factors. Establishing the presence of IBD health disparities and understanding their mechanisms will facilitate interventions in public policy and education to optimize health care utilization and outcomes in underserved populations. ? ? ? ?
