Emergency Department Use in the US‐Mexico Border Region and Violence in Mexico: Is There a Relationship?

Abstract

A substantial majority of ED encounters in the US-Mexico border region were potentially avoidable. However, there was not a strong relationship between homicide rates in northern Mexico and the distribution of ED discharges in Arizona and California. Given the large percentage of potentially avoidable ED encounters and the ongoing violence in Mexico, continuing to monitor this relationship is important.

The relationship between violence in Northern Mexico and potentially avoidable hospitalizations in the USA–Mexico border region

“…Options for improving access to care in the USA-Mexico border region may be more complicated than in other regions 12 due to the availability of formal care in Mexico and informal care options, options that are not present in other regions. 17,18 What this study adds…”

“…15,16 Previous research found that increased homicide rates were negatively associated with legal border crossing from Mexico into the USA, but found no association between homicide rates and selfreported access for residents of border counties or changes in the composition of emergency department (ED) encounters. 17,18 However, markers of reduced access measured using administrative utilization data and well-established access indicators such as ACS admissions may be more sensitive than self-reported data and more reliable than changes in ED encounter ratios.…”