Brief report: Acute care visits vary by race and ethnicity among publicly insured preterm infants

In the United States, a history of racist policies and practices in social, economic, and political systems has resulted in an unequal distribution of resources for traditionally marginalized, non-White communities, including employment, education, wealth, and access to health care.¹ People of color visit acute care settings such as the emergency department (ED) for health care more often than other populations, likely in part due to these social factors that impact health and healthcare access.² Black and Hispanic populations are more likely to visit the ED in pediatric populations³ and in the first 36 months of life.⁴

Preterm infants are at a high risk for morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare utilization (HCU), which has important financial implications for families and healthcare systems.⁵ Among this high-risk population, there are also racial and ethnic disparities in morbidity and mortality.^6,7 Although HCU varies by race and ethnicity among adults,² children,^3,4 and infants,^4,8 few studies exist for utilization among preterm infants.^9,10 Identifying disparities in HCU has important implications for future investigations of quality of care, severity of illness, and barriers in access to primary care. We therefore sought to investigate whether ED utilization differs by race and ethnicity among publicly insured preterm infants in a California cohort. We restricted our sample to publicly insured infants to compare infants with similar access to health care.

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