Table 12_1_5-4a

2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports

The National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR) is a comprehensive national overview of quality of health care in the United States. It is organized around four dimensions of quality of care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness.

Table 12_1_5.4a
Adults who had a doctor's office or clinic visit in the last 12 months whose health providers usually explained things in a way they could understand, by race, United States, 2005
Population group		Total		Single race										Multiple races
		Total		White		Black		Asian		NHOPI		AI/AN		Multiple races
		Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE	Percent	SE
Total		31.3	0.5	32.1	0.5	24.0	1.3	36.2	2.9	*	*	*	*	27.7	3.8
Age	18–44	31.7	0.8	32.4	0.9	25.8	1.9	36.3	3.7	*	*	*	*	30.0	5.2
	45–64	31.4	0.8	32.1	0.9	23.9	2.1	39.9	4.7	*	*	*	*	*	*
	65 and over	30.3	1.0	31.5	1.1	17.8	2.4	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Gender	Male	31.2	0.8	31.9	0.8	23.2	2.1	36.1	3.6	*	*	*	*	*	*
Gender	Female	31.4	0.6	32.3	0.7	24.5	1.4	36.4	3.7	*	*	*	*	26.6	5.0
Family income^a	Negative/poor	28.9	1.3	31.5	1.7	21.1	2.0	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Near poor/low	30.6	1.1	31.6	1.3	26.2	2.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Middle	31.5	0.9	32.3	1.0	22.7	1.9	38.8	5.5	*	*	*	*	*	*
	High	32.0	0.8	32.2	0.8	25.9	2.4	35.9	3.7	*	*	*	*	*	*
Education^b	Less than high school	29.9	1.2	30.9	1.4	22.4	2.4	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	High school graduate	31.1	0.8	32.3	0.9	23.0	2.2	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	At least some college	31.9	0.7	32.3	0.8	25.7	1.7	36.8	3.1	*	*	*	*	*	*
Employment status, ages 18–64	Employed	31.2	0.6	31.6	0.7	25.7	1.7	37.9	3.4	*	*	*	*	31.0	4.9
Employment status, ages 18–64	Not employed	33.0	1.1	34.6	1.2	23.4	2.3	36.6	6.2	*	*	*	*	*	*
Health insurance, ages 18–64	Any private	31.5	0.6	31.9	0.7	24.2	1.6	38.4	3.6	*	*	*	*	34.7	5.2
	Public only	31.6	1.4	34.2	1.8	25.2	2.5	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Uninsured	32.4	1.7	33.4	2.0	29.8	4.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Health insurance, age 65 and over	Medicare only	30.3	1.9	32.1	2.1	19.9	4.3	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Medicare and private	31.3	1.3	31.8	1.4	18.2	3.4	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Medicare and other public	24.1	2.6	26.8	3.3	14.6	3.8	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Residence location^c	Metropolitan	31.3	0.5	32.0	0.6	24.6	1.4	36.0	3.0	*	*	*	*	26.9	4.0
	Large central metro	31.9	0.8	33.0	1.0	26.3	2.1	34.0	3.6	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Large fringe metro	29.9	1.0	30.0	1.1	24.3	2.7	39.0	5.5	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Medium metro	31.5	1.0	32.3	1.1	22.2	2.6	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Small metro	32.5	1.7	33.8	1.8	18.2	2.8	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Nonmetropolitan	31.6	1.2	32.5	1.3	19.0	4.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Micropolitan	31.6	1.6	32.3	1.7	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Noncore	31.6	2.2	32.9	2.3	15.3	3.8	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Language spoken most often at home	English	31.0	0.5	31.7	0.6	24.0	1.3	39.8	3.9	*	*	*	*	28.0	3.9
Language spoken most often at home	Other	35.6	2.1	37.2	2.4	*	*	31.1	4.0	*	*	*	*	*	*
Perceived health status	Excellent/very good/good	30.9	0.5	31.4	0.6	24.4	1.4	34.9	2.8	*	*	*	*	31.9	4.3
Perceived health status	Fair/poor	33.8	1.0	36.0	1.2	22.7	2.1	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Activity limitations^c	Basic activities	33.9	1.1	36.1	1.3	23.1	2.4	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Complex activities	34.2	1.4	37.3	1.6	22.3	2.8	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
	Neither basic nor complex activities	30.8	0.6	31.1	0.6	24.8	1.5	36.3	3.0	*	*	*	*	34.2	5.2

^a Negative/poor refers to household incomes below the Federal poverty line; near poor/low, over the poverty line to just below 200 percent of the poverty line; middle, 200 percent to just below 400 percent of the poverty line; and high, 400 percent of the poverty line and over.

^b Less than high school refers to fewer than 12 years of education; high school graduate, 12 years of education; and at least some college, more than 12 years of education.

^c For more information, see the MEPS entry in Appendix A, Data Sources.

* - Data do not meet the criteria for statistical reliability, data quality, or confidentiality.

Key: AI/AN: American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI: Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; SE: standard error.

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Center for Financing, Access and Cost Trends, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.

Current as of September 2009

Internet Citation: Table 12_1_5-4a: 2008 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports. September 2009. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/nhqrdr/nhqrdr08/12_patientcenteredness/T12_1_5-4a.html