Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. Although not long ago it was widely believed that African-Americans had a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease than whites, few now believe this to be the case. However, despite parity in the incidence of cardiovascular disease, there remains a substantial Black-White difference in the utilization of tertiary care cardiovascular services (TCCS), such as coronary angiography (CA), coronary bypass surgery (CABG) and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Race differences have been found with great consistency across studies of varying design. What remains to be addressed, however, is the question - why do these disparities exist? This proposal outlines a study designed to address that question. The study has four specific aims: 1) to determine the patient and provider characteristics exclusive of symptomatology that predict black-white differences in referral for coronary angiography; 2) to determine, for patients who are referred for coronary angiography, the patient and provider characteristics that predict black-white differences in receipt of coronary angiography; 3) to determine the patient and provider characteristics exclusive of symptomatology that predict black-white difference in referral for CABG and PTCA; 4) to determine, for patients who are referred for CABG or PTCA, the patient and provider characteristics that predict black-white differences in receipt of CABG and PTCA.
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| LaVeist, Thomas A; Morgan, Athol; Arthur, Melanie et al. (2002) Physician referral patterns and race differences in receipt of coronary angiography. Health Serv Res 37:949-62 |
| LaVeist, T A; Nickerson, K J; Bowie, J V (2000) Attitudes about racism, medical mistrust, and satisfaction with care among African American and white cardiac patients. Med Care Res Rev 57 Suppl 1:146-61 |
