Abstract
This study utilized a large clinical dataset of patients representative of those in routine U.S. psychiatric practice to assess the influence of sociodemographic variables and diagnostic class on health plan membership (public or private). Data on patients with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders (n=288) and patients with mood or anxiety disorders (n=1304) were obtained from a cross-sectional practice-based survey conducted by the American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education. The likelihood of health plan membership was lower among males and among those from a minority race/ethnicity. Health plan membership was also affected by educational attainment and employment status. Even after controlling for these sociodemographic determinants of health plan membership, individuals with schizophrenia/other psychotic disorders were significantly less likely to belong to a health plan than those with mood/anxiety disorders.
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Acknowledgments
This analysis was supported by a GlaxoSmithKline Health Services Research Scholarship provided by APIRE to the first author. Development and support of the American Psychiatric PRN has been generously funded by the American Psychiatric Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Center for Mental Health Services, and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
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Michael T. Compton and Nadine J. Kaslow are affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Paul S. Weiss is affiliated with the Department of Biostatistics, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
V. L. Phillips is affiliated with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Joyce C. West is affiliated with the Psychiatric Practice Research Network, American Psychiatric Institute for Research and Education, Arlington, Virginia, USA.
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Compton, M.T., Weiss, P.S., Phillips, V.L. et al. Determinants of Health Plan Membership Among Patients in Routine U.S. Psychiatric Practice. Community Ment Health J 42, 197–204 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-005-9016-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-005-9016-5