Gender, socioeconomic status and emergency department visits among cancer survivors in the USA: a population-based study

Aim: To assess patterns of emergency department visits and subsequent hospitalization in relation to gender and socioeconomic status among a cohort of cancer survivors in the USA. Materials of which 16,133 participants (72.5%) who have not visited an emergency department in the past 12 months and 6107 participants (27.5%) who have visited an emergency department in the past 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression analysis suggested the following factors are associated with emergency department visits; younger age (odds ratio OR with increasing age: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.98–0.99), female gender (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.00–1.15), African American race (OR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.13–1.40), unmarried status (OR for married vs unmarried: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.74–0.84), lower yearly earnings (OR: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.20–1.54), poor health status (OR: 7.02; 95% CI: 6.02–8.18) and incomplete health insurance coverage (OR for complete coverage vs incomplete coverage: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.54–0.80). On the other hand, the following factors were associated with subsequent hospitalization: older age (OR: 1.004; 95% CI: 1.000–1.008), male gender (OR for female vs male: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78–0.94), unmarried status (OR for married vs unmarried status: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.73–0.88), not working (OR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.23–1.68), lower yearly earnings (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.07–1.60), poor health status (OR: 8.43; 95% CI: 6.76–10.51) and lack of health insurance coverage (OR for complete coverage vs incomplete coverage: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.55–0.93). Conclusion: Female cancer survivors were more likely to visit the emergency department, whereas they were less likely to be subsequently hospitalized. Cancer survivors with lower socioeconomic status were more likely to visit emergency departments and to be subsequently hospitalized.