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The Relationship Between Access To Healthcare And Heart Disease Mortality In Kentucky, 2012-2014, Nima Farsi

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Cardiovascular disease is the cause for a large portion of the mortalities in the United States. Furthermore, Kentucky has one of the highest heart disease mortality rates out of all 50 U.S. States. This study hypothesized that heart disease mortality in Kentucky counties has a positive relationship with lack of accessibility to healthcare. Furthermore, this ecological study hypothesized that because there is no available usual source of a healthcare providers and ultimately a lack of accessibility to receive diagnostic/preventative services for this population, the high rate of cardiovascular disease mortality in Kentucky is dependent on access to healthcare services.

This …

An Ecologic Study Of Access To Acute Stroke Care, Mortality And Its Correlates In The Stroke Belt, Jeffrey E. Levy

Theses and Dissertations--Public Health (M.P.H. & Dr.P.H.)

Importance: Stroke is leading cause of death in the United States, but quick access to treatment has been shown to result in better outcomes and improved mortality. Among the many barriers to access, geographic proximity to hospitals certified in stroke care may also play a role.

Objectives: To calculate county-level measures of accessibility to certified stroke hospitals using GIS, and to examine its relationship with county stroke mortality while controlling for other county-level potential confounders.

Methods: Ecologic study using county mortality rates and census data to recreate stroke death counts for use in traditional, and a geographically …