Emergency department usage by uninsured patients in Galveston County, Texas.

The number of uninsured Texas residents who rely on the medical emergency department as their primary health care provider continues to increase. Unfortunately, little information about the characteristics of this group of emergency department users is available. Using an administrative billing database, we conducted a descriptive study to examine the demographic and clinical features of 17,110 consecutive patients without medical insurance who presented to the emergency department of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston over a 12-month period.

Examining the role of acculturation in health behaviors of older Mexican Americans.

Objectives: To determine if acculturation is associated with smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity among older Mexican Americans.

Methods: Multivariate analyses of data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) were used.

Results: Those who were more proficient in English were more likely to be former or current smokers than nonsmokers and former or current drinkers than abstainers.

Neighborhood context and self-rated health in older Mexican Americans.

Purpose: To determine whether neighborhood characteristics are associated with self-rated health in older Mexican Americans.

Methods: Epidemiologic data on 3050 older Mexican Americans residing in the southwestern United States during 1993 and 1994 were merged with 1990 US Census data. All subjects were matched to one of 210 census tracts (neighborhoods).