What Can Be Learned From Analyzing Multiple Risk Factors?
We have analyzed nationally representative data from three sources to explore the negative influence of multiple risk factors on healthcare access, receipt of preventive care, and children’s health. Certain methodological approaches should be considered when conducting research on vulnerability. It may be useful to stratify analyses by immutable factors such as race/ethnicity and to create risk profiles using factors that are more amenable to policy interventions (eg, insurance coverage, regular source of care). It is also informative to consider both the number and type of risk factors. In the case of unmet healthcare needs, the analysis of multiple factors demonstrates a dose-response relationship in the likelihood of delaying care as the number of risk factors increases, regardless of race/ethnicity. One in five US adults experiences multiple risk factors for unmet healthcare needs, so using the vulnerability model to address these needs will lead to a more effective approach.In add
