INNER-CITY HOSPITALS - A CALL FOR RESEARCH

Inner-city hospitals serve as safety nets for poor and underserved pop ulations. They cope with serious issues of uncompensated care, aging f acilities, and inadequate reimbursement. Yet, little research exists o n their needs and problems. The authors argue that research on inner-c ity institutions is necessary to obtain ''policy'' attention, legitimi ze demand for resources, reframe inner-city health issues as a deliver y problem, and gain insights on better ways to manage inner-city hospi tals. They provide data-based illustrations of future research questio ns related to issues of inefficiency, overstaffing, case severity, and facility renovation that can contribute to better policymaking on inn er-city hospitals. The authors recognize systemic barriers to research including the unpopularity of access issues, lack of data, and absenc e of input from practitioners working in inner-city institutions. To r emove such barriers, they suggest creation of a representative forum, original databases, increased linkage with research and policy agencie s, and increased cooperation between inner-city professionals and rese archers.