SDOH, ethnicity, &amp; communication difficulties (Marte et al., 2024)
Creators: name: Marte, Manuel Jose
name: Addesso, David
name: Kiran, Swathi
Publisher: name: ASHA journals
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 420305
subject: Health and community services
classificationCode: 420602
subject: Health equity
classificationCode: 470101
subject: Communication studies
classificationCode: 320905
subject: Neurology and neuromuscular diseases

description: <b>Purpose: </b>The relationship among ethnicity, social determinants of health (SDOH), and disparities in poststroke outcomes is complex, and the impact on communication difficulties is unclear. This study investigated the presence and nature of communication difficulties in poststroke non-Hispanic White (PsnHw) and Hispanic U.S. populations using population-level data.<b>Method: </b>We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 2,861 non-Hispanic White and 353 Hispanic poststroke respondents included in the 2014–2018 National Health Interview Survey. Respondents self-reported difficulties communicating in their usual language, in addition to providing information relating to demographics and lifestyle, health care access and utilization, health status, and SDOH. We used univariate statistics, generalized linear models, and an exploratory mediation analysis, to characterize the pattern of differences between these cohorts, examine associations between variables and communication difficulties, and determine the potential intermediate role of cumulative SDOH on the likelihood of reporting communication difficulties.<b>Results: </b>Findings indicated a more challenging life context for the poststroke Hispanic population due to SDOH disparities. Poverty and Internet use were associated with greater and lower odds of communication difficulties for PsnHw, respectively. The mediation analysis showed that ethnicity significantly affected communication difficulties, but only when mediated by SDOH. SDOH accounted for approximately two thirds of the total effect on reporting communication difficulties.<b>Conclusions: </b>This study underscores the need for uniform measures of SDOH in prospective research and for interventions aimed at mitigating health disparities through addressing disparities in SDOH. Future research should focus on evaluating the effectiveness of such strategies in diverse ethnic and socioeconomic poststroke populations.<b>Supplemental Material S1.</b> Supplemental methods.<i>Table S1.</i> Study variables by type and dichotomization process.<i>Table S2.</i> Generalized linear model results approximating the association between each of the five social determinants of health and communication difficulties in poststroke non-Hispanic White respondents.<i>Table S3.</i> Generalized linear model results approximating the association between each of the five social determinants of health and communication difficulties in poststroke Hispanic respondents.Marte, M. J., Addesso, D., &amp; Kiran, S. (2024). Association between social determinants of health and communication difficulties in poststroke U.S. Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations. <i>American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,</i> <i>33</i>(1), 248–261<i>.</i> https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_AJSLP-23-00232