Characterizing Children's Asthma Hospitalizations on the Texas-Mexico Border

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to study patterns in children's asthma hospitalizations along the Texas-Mexico border. Data for analysis were obtained from the State of Texas and the US Bureau of the Census. Estimated hospitalization rates are compared for border and off-border sociodemographic groups. A logistic regression equation is also used to predict border residence using individual patient characteristics (i.e., race, ethnicity, payer, admission source, severity, length of stay, and cost). Border children are hospitalized at a 36% greater rate than off-border children; additional disparities were found between social groups, particularly for Native American border children. These disparities are disconcerting and require monitoring and reduction.

Keywords:

• asthma hospitalizations
• children's health
• US-Mexico border
• health disparities