Poorer, racially diverse neighborhoods more likely to lose health facilities, study finds
May 15 (UPI) -- Neighborhoods with high black and Hispanic or Latino populations are more likely to lose healthcare facilities, potentially making it more difficult to access care, a new study has found. In research published Friday by JAMA Network Open, the authors observed that these areas had a higher than 50 percent risk for experiencing a healthcare facility closure -- including hospitals, clinics and pharmacies -- than those with predominantly white populations. Similarly, regions with high levels of poverty, based on findings from the U.S. Census in 2000 and 2010, were 12 percent more likely to see needed health facilities close. "There is increasing evidence that racial and ethnic disparities in access to healthcare have been reduced for some subgroups after implementation of the...
