© 2004 American Public Health Association
Leo S. Morales and José J. Escarce are with RAND Health, Santa Monica, Calif, and the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. Jeannette Rogowski and John L. Adams are with RAND Health. Vicki A. Freedman is with Polisher Research Institute, Horsham, Pa. Steven L. Wickstrom is with the Center for Health Care Policy and Evaluation, United HealthCare, Minneapolis, Minn. Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Leo Morales, MD, PhD, 1700 Main St, Santa Monica, CA 90407 (e-mail: morales{at}rand.org).
Objectives. We examined the effect of demographic and socioeconomic factors on use of preventive services (prostate-specific antigen testing, colorectal cancer screening, and influenza vaccination) among elderly men enrolled in 2 Medicare+Choice health plans. Methods. Data were derived from administrative files and a survey of 1915 male enrollees. We used multivariate logistic regression to assess the effects of enrollee characteristics on preventive service use. Results. Age, marital status, educational attainment, and household wealth were associated with receipt of one or more preventive services. However, the effects of these variables were substantially attenuated relative to earlier studies of Medicare. Conclusions. Some Medicare HMOs have been successful in attenuating racial and socioeconomic disparities in the use of preventive services by older men. This article has been cited by other articles:
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