THURS-084 - Exploring Relationship Between Urgent Healthcare Visits on Daily Smoking Intensity: Cross-sectional Study Using Zero-inflated Models
Thursday, April 17, 2025
5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PST
Location: Pacific I/II, 2nd Floor
Area of Responsibility: Area I: Assessment of Needs and Capacity Subcompetencies: 1.2.4 Procure secondary data., 1.3.3 Identify the social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental factors that impact the health and/or learning processes of the priority p Research or Practice: Research
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
To examine the relationship between urgent healthcare visits and daily cigarette consumption.
Analyze the effectiveness of count data models, particularly Zero-Inflated Poisson and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial models, in understanding the non-linear relationships between urgent healthcare utilization and smoking habits.
Describe how zero-inflatted Negative Binomial model is the best-fitted model to analyze the relationship among urgent healthcare utilization and smoking habits
Brief Abstract Summary: This research aims to investigate how visits to urgent care facilities affect the daily cigarette consumption of smokers. Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing public health policies and interventions to reduce smoking rates and lessen the strain on healthcare systems. This study draws on data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to investigate the relationship between daily cigarette consumption and urgent healthcare visits. A sample of 28,122 adult respondents was analyzed using Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) models to account for overdispersion and the count nature of the data. Covariates included age, sex, cardiovascular disease (CHC), education level, and health insurance coverage. The ZINB model showed that individuals with five or more urgent care visits annually were more likely to reduce cigarette consumption, with a reduction of 0.35.
Detailed abstract description: Background Cigarette smoking is a significant public health concern, leading to increased illness and higher healthcare costs. This research aims to investigate how visits to urgent care facilities affect the daily cigarette consumption of smokers. Understanding these relationships is crucial for developing public health policies and interventions to reduce smoking rates and lessen the strain on healthcare systems. Methods This study draws on data from the 2023 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to investigate the relationship between daily cigarette consumption and urgent healthcare visits. A sample of 28,122 adult respondents was analyzed using Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) models to account for overdispersion and the count nature of the data. Covariates included age, sex, cardiovascular disease (CHC), education level, and health insurance coverage.
Results: The results revealed that individuals with five or more urgent care visits per year showed a statistically significant reduction in cigarette consumption, with a reduction of 0.35 cigarettes per day in the ZINB model (p < 0.05). Males were found to smoke more cigarettes daily compared to females (p < 0.001). Higher levels of education were unexpectedly associated with increased smoking intensity, whereas individuals without coronary heart disease (CHC) smoked fewer cigarettes compared to those with CHC (p < 0.05). The ZINB model showed a better fit among the two models, as indicated by lower AIC values, confirming that this model better-handled overdispersion.
Recommendations: The findings suggest that frequent urgent care visits could serve as an intervention point for smoking cessation programs, especially for males and individuals with higher education. Healthcare providers should incorporate brief smoking cessation counseling during urgent care visits to target high-risk groups. Public health programs should address socio-demographic disparities in smoking behavior, tailoring interventions based on specific characteristics like age, sex, and education level. Future research should examine longitudinal data to establish causality between healthcare utilization and smoking behavior.
.jpg "Rubaiya Binte Razzak, MSc. (she/her/hers) photo")