Abstract
Health disparities have been widely studied in the primary care and surgical settings. The purpose of this study was to examine surgical access disparities for orthopaedic surgical cases performed at a large academic health center by comparing the relationship between patient demographic factors and surgical wait time. A total of 24,778 orthopaedic surgical cases from 2018 to 2022 at a public, tertiary care, Level I trauma center were retrospectively analyzed to assess for surgical timing disparities based on patient-specific factors, including race, sex, language, and socioeconomic status. Elective surgical cases were completed with an average surgical wait time of 28.11 ± 26.34 days. Urgent surgical cases were completed with an average surgical wait time of 1.23 ± 1.50 days. Patient race, sex, language, and socioeconomic status had no effect on surgical wait time for urgent case scheduling. Female patients had longer average wait times in elective cases, whereas race had a weak association with increased wait time. Two-factor interaction analysis showed no multifactorial effects of patient demographic factors on surgical wait time. Patient race and socioeconomic status were associated with increased distance from surgical sites, although increased distance did not correlate with increased surgical wait time. Patient demographic factors did not demonstrate clinically notable associations with surgical timing in this patient cohort, in contrast to previous studies demonstrating the effects of race and socioeconomic status on healthcare outcomes and access. Race and socioeconomic status did correlate with increased distance from surgical centers although distance from surgical sites did not correlate with surgical wait time. This contributes to previous literature on healthcare equity and indicates that surgical wait time may not contribute to the known healthcare inequalities seen in minority and marginalized patients.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
