Utilizing the pediatric health information system to analyze associations between socioeconomic variables and length of hospital stay
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
The social determinants of health are known to have an impact on healthcare outcomes. This study aims to elucidate the role of variables such as race, ethnicity, source of payment, and median household income, on length of stay at pediatric hospitals across the country. To analyze these associations, we used data from the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS). PHIS is a national database that gives contributing institutions access to deidentified data from patients that were seen at one of the nearly 50 PHIS hospitals in the country. This can be filtered through according to variable of interest. Our study included data from nearly 2 million patients and analyzed approximately 30 variables. We conducted univariate and multivariate analyses of length of stay. Consistent with previous findings, Black patients and patients from low-income households have longer lengths of stay than their counterparts. Neonates and infants have longer lengths of stay than patients in other age groups. Patients receiving treatment in specialties such as physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychiatry, radiation oncology, radiology, or respiratory system treatment have longer lengths of stay than patients being seen for other specialties. This project is a stepping stone towards a larger and wider effort to decrease disparities in healthcare. The data yielded is most relevant to clinicians and hospital administrators who can use this information to provide individualized care and promote continuity of care upon discharge.
Description
2025
License
Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International