PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Wang, Harry H. X.
AU  - Wang, Jia Ji
AU  - Lawson, Kenny D.
AU  - Wong, Samuel Y. S.
AU  - Wong, Martin C. S.
AU  - Li, Fang Jian
AU  - Wang, Pei Xi
AU  - Zhou, Zhi Heng
AU  - Zhu, Chun Yan
AU  - Yeong, Yao Qun
AU  - Griffiths, Sian M.
AU  - Mercer, Stewart W.
TI  - Relationships of Multimorbidity and Income With Hospital Admissions in 3 Health Care Systems
AID  - 10.1370/afm.1757
DP  - 2015 Mar 01
TA  - The Annals of Family Medicine
PG  - 164--167
VI  - 13
IP  - 2
4099  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/13/2/164.short
4100  - http://www.annfammed.org/content/13/2/164.full
SO  - Ann Fam Med2015 Mar 01; 13
AB  - Associations of multimorbidity and income with hospital admission were investigated in population samples from 3 widely differing health care systems: Scotland (n = 36,921), China (n = 162,464), and Hong Kong (n = 29,187). Multimorbidity increased odds of admissions in all 3 settings. In Scotland, poorer people were more likely to be admitted (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.41–1.86 for the lowest income group vs the highest), whereas China showed the opposite (aOR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.56–0.60). In Hong Kong, poorer people were more likely to be admitted to public hospitals (aOR = 1.68; 95% CI, 1.36–2.07), but less likely to be admitted to private ones (aOR = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.13–0.25). Strategies to improve equitable health care should consider the impact of socioeconomic deprivation on the use of health care resources, particularly among populations with prevalent multimorbidity.