Discover how socioeconomic factors shape the healthcare journey for children with epilepsy in the United States, revealing critical disparities that demand attention.
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Socioeconomic status and healthcare utilization disparities among children with epilepsy in the United States: Results from a nationally representative sample.
Muthiah et al., Sci Rep 2023
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48668-3
Study Highlights Disparities in Healthcare for Children with Epilepsy
What’s New: This study provides a detailed analysis of healthcare disparities among children with epilepsy, focusing on income levels, emergency department (ED) utilization, and the impact of income on healthcare access.
Importance: While disparities in adult epilepsy care are known, this research sheds light on the less-studied pediatric population, revealing significant differences in healthcare access and utilization based on income and epilepsy status.
Contributions to Literature: The study uses data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (2016-2019) to compare children with epilepsy to those without. It found that children with epilepsy are more likely to come from lower-income households (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.7 for higher-income households) and have increased interactions with the healthcare system, including:
- Higher likelihood of ED visits (aOR = 10.2)
- More frequent visits to healthcare professionals (aOR: 2.7)
- Greater need for specialist care (aOR: 10.3)
Additionally, 7.7% of children with epilepsy did not receive needed healthcare, with significant barriers being appointment scheduling (aOR: 3.9) and transportation issues (aOR: 4.7).
Conclusion: The study concludes that children with epilepsy face significant healthcare access challenges, which are exacerbated by lower household income. The findings suggest that targeted policy interventions could help overcome these barriers and improve healthcare access for pediatric epilepsy patients.