Rural Communities in the United States Face Persistent Disparities in Access to Orthopaedic Surgical Care.

Background: Access to orthopaedic care across the United States (U.S.) remains an important issue, however, no recent study has examined disparities in rural access to orthopaedic care.

How Female Is the Future of Urology? Projecting Various Trajectories of the United States Urology Workforce.

Objective: To project the number and proportion of women in the urology workforce using recent demographic trends and develop an app to explore updated projections using future data.

Methods: Demographic data were obtained from AUA Censuses and ACGME Data Resource Books. The proportion of female graduating urology residents was characterized with a logistic growth model.

Do Patients Reporting Fractures Experience Food Insecurity More Frequently Than the General Population?

Background: The economic burden of traumatic injuries forces families into difficult tradeoffs between healthcare and nutrition, particularly among those with a low income. However, the epidemiology of food insecurity among individuals reporting having experienced fractures is not well understood.

Questions/purposes: (1) Do individuals in the National Health Interview Survey reporting having experienced fractures also report food insecurity more frequently than individuals in the general population? (2) Are specific factors associated with a higher risk of food insecurity in patients with fractures?

Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of the National Health Interview Survey was conducted to identify patients who reported a fracture within 3 months before survey completion.

Do Americans Lacking a Local Orthopaedic Surgeon Have Adequate Broadband for Telehealth?

Background: Although telehealth holds promise in expanding access to orthopaedic surgical care, high-speed internet connectivity remains a major limiting factor for many communities. Despite persistent federal efforts to study and address the health information technology needs of patients, there is limited information regarding the current high-speed internet landscape as it relates to access to orthopaedic surgical care.

Questions/purposes: (1) What is the distribution of practicing orthopaedic surgeons in the United States relative to the presence of broadband internet access? (2) What geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic factors are associated with the absence of high-speed internet and access to a local orthopaedic surgeon?

Methods: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Mapping Broadband in America interactive tool was used to determine the proportion of county residents with access to broadband-speed internet for all 3141 US counties.

Nationwide disparities in transportation related delays to care experienced by children with frequent ear infections.

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM), or ear infection, is the most common reason for pediatric medical visits in the United States [1]. Additionally, transportation barriers are a significant driver of missed and delayed care across medical specialties [2,3]. Yet, the role of transportation barriers in impeding access for children with frequent ear infections (FEI) has not been investigated.