Preventable hospitalizations are common and costly events that burden patients and our health care system. While research suggests that these events are strongly linked to ambulatory care access, emerging evidence suggests they may also be sensitive to a patient's social, environmental, and economic conditions. This study examines the association between variations in social vulnerability and preventable hospitalization rates. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of county-level preventable hospitalization rates for 33 states linked with data from the 2020 Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Preventable hospitalizations were 40% higher in the most vulnerable counties compared with the least vulnerable. Adjusted regression results confirm the strong relationship between social vulnerability and preventable hospitalizations. Our results suggest wide variation in community-level preventable hospitalization rates, with robust evidence that variation is strongly related to a community's social vulnerability. The human toll, societal cost, and preventability of these hospitalizations make understanding and mitigating these inequities a national priority.

中文翻译：

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社区社会脆弱性与可预防的住院治疗之间的关联。

可预防的住院治疗是常见且代价高昂的事件，给患者和我们的医疗保健系统带来负担。虽然研究表明这些事件与门诊护理的获取密切相关，但新出现的证据表明它们也可能对患者的社会、环境和经济条件敏感。本研究探讨了社会脆弱性的变化与可预防的住院率之间的关联。我们结合 2020 年社会脆弱性指数 (SVI) 的数据，对 33 个州的县级可预防住院率进行了横断面分析。与最不脆弱的县相比，最脆弱的县的可预防住院率高出 40%。调整后的回归结果证实了社会脆弱性与可预防的住院治疗之间的密切关系。我们的研究结果表明，社区层面可预防的住院率存在很大差异，有强有力的证据表明，这种差异与社区的社会脆弱性密切相关。这些住院治疗造成的人员伤亡、社会成本和可预防性使理解和减轻这些不平等现象成为国家优先事项。