Barriers to Health Care Affordability Among Parents of Children with Atopic Dermatitis.

Abstract

Abstracts: Background: Pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) can pose a significant financial burden to families. However, no studies exist that assess the impact of pediatric AD on health care access/affordability at the parental level. Objective: Explore the effects of childhood AD on parental access to health care and the socioeconomic factors that might exacerbate these problems. Methods: The National Health Interview Survey was used to analyze 48,329,314 participants who answered the validated question on pediatric AD. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association between pediatric AD and parental access to care. Results: Parents of children with AD were more likely to have difficulty accessing prescription medications (aOR: 1.47; [95% CI 1.31-1.65]), follow-up care (1.36; [95% CI 1.17-1.57]), specialist care (aOR: 1.53; [95% CI 1.33-1.75]), and more likely to purchase medications from abroad (aOR: 1.35; [95% CI 1.09-1.67]) relative to their counterparts with children without AD. Within the AD cohort, uninsured or lower income participants had higher odds of facing these barriers to care. Conclusions: Parents of children with AD are more likely to face barriers in health care access, and significant disparities exist based on sociodemographic characteristics.