INSPIRE

Initiative for Surgical Care and Progress in Research (INSPIRE)

Expanding access to surgical care, particularly for communities with limited healthcare resources, remains a complex challenge despite substantial efforts. Current strategies to improve access to clinically necessary surgical interventions have yielded mixed results, contributing to ongoing public health concerns. The delivery of such care is shaped by multiple interconnected factors within the healthcare system, involving patients, providers, and healthcare infrastructure. These elements interact within a multifaceted framework that includes geographic, biological, and social influences, leading to variations in care delivery. The precise mechanisms through which these factors interact and their specific impact on surgical access remain unclear.

To further understand these complexities, we developed the County Deprivation Index (CDI), a composite measure designed to capture economic and social conditions at the county level. The CDI integrates multiple indicators related to income, employment, and education, offering a standardized approach to evaluating broader community-level factors that may influence healthcare access. By incorporating the CDI into our research, we aim to provide a more comprehensive perspective on how socioeconomic conditions shape surgical care availability and utilization.

We have recently developed and described a metric known as the Surgical Equity Index (SEI), which provides a quantitative approach to assessing patterns of surgical care access (Wong, Irish et al. 2020). Additionally, we have developed an innovative and comprehensive Data Platform that serves as the foundation for advanced analytics and modeling. This platform integrates data from multiple public-use sources (e.g., Health Cost and Utilization Project, Area Health Resource Files), allowing for a deeper examination of the complex and interconnected factors influencing the SEI. This approach is grounded in the understanding that access to safe, timely, and evidence-based surgical care is essential for promoting overall population health.

Collaborators:

Ashley Burch PhD, Department of Health Services and Information Management, East Carolina University

William Irish, PhD; Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Carl Haisch, MD; Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Kathryn Verbanac, PhD; Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Michael D Honaker, MD; Department of Surgery, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University

Amanda Landry, MS; Medical Student, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University