TUESDAY, Aug. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Counties with high pharmacy desert densities also face social vulnerability and health care provider shortages, according to a research letter published online Aug. 23 in JAMA Network Open.
Giovanni Catalano, M.D., from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, and colleagues examined if pharmacy deserts disproportionately affect individuals living in U.S. regions with low practitioner supply and high social vulnerability. The analysis included communities located ≥10 miles from the nearest retail pharmacy based on the TelePharm Map, with Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and primary care provider (PCP) data obtained from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
The researchers found that among 3,143 U.S. counties, 46 percent had at least one pharmacy desert, of which 56.5 percent were categorized as having low and 43.5 percent as having high pharmacy desert density. Compared with counties with low pharmacy desert density, counties with a high pharmacy desert density had a higher SVI. Similarly, areas with a high pharmacy desert density also had lower median PCP density compared with regions with low or no pharmacy desert density. When controlling for age and sex, both high SVI (odds ratio, 1.35) and low PCP density (odds ratio, 2.27) were associated with a higher likelihood for a county to have a high pharmacy desert density.
"These findings highlight how disparities compound to create barriers to access basic health care," the authors write.
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