Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

BACKGROUND: To explore inequalities in the provision of hip/knee replacement surgery and produce small-area estimates of provision to inform local health planning. METHODS: Hospital Episode Statistics were used to explore inequalities in the provision of primary hip/knee operations in English NHS hospitals in 2002. Multilevel Poisson regression modelling was used to estimate rates of surgical provision by socio-demographic, hospital and distance variables. GIS software was used to estimate road travel times and create hospital catchment areas. RESULTS: Rates of joint replacement increased with age before falling in those aged 80+. Women received more operations than men. People living in the most deprived areas obtained fewer hip, but more knee operations. Those in urban areas received less hip surgery, but there was no association for knee replacement. Controlling for hospital and distance measures did not attenuate the effects. Geographical variation across districts was observed with some districts showing inequality in socio-demographic factors, whereas others showed none at all. CONCLUSIONS: This study found evidence of inequalities in the provision of joint replacement surgery. However, before we can conclude that there is inequity in receipts of healthcare, future research must consider whether these patterns are explained by variations in need across socio-demographic groups.

Original publication

DOI

10.1093/pubmed/fdp061

Type

Journal article

Journal

J public health (oxf)

Publication Date

09/2009

Volume

31

Pages

413 - 422

Keywords

Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip, Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee, Databases, Factual, Elective Surgical Procedures, England, Ethnic Groups, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Healthcare Disparities, Hospitals, State, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Multivariate Analysis, Regression Analysis, Sex Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, State Medicine