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Socioeconomic status and wait times for pediatric surgery in Canada

Mark Szynkaruk1, Derek Stephens2, Gregory H Borschel3

  • 1Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, and.

Pediatrics
|July 9, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Socioeconomic status (SES) did not impact how quickly children received surgical care. This study found no link between a child's background and their surgical wait times, ensuring equitable access to pediatric surgery.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Surgery
  • Healthcare Access
  • Health Equity

Background:

  • Access to healthcare, particularly timely surgical intervention for children, can be influenced by socioeconomic status (SES).
  • Delays in pediatric surgery can lead to significant, lifelong functional, social, and psychological challenges.
  • Understanding factors affecting surgical wait times is crucial for equitable healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and adherence to surgical wait time targets for pediatric patients.
  • To assess the influence of gender, age, and hospital proximity on meeting pediatric surgical access targets.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 39,287 pediatric surgical procedures from 2005-2011 at a major children's hospital.
  • Correlation of patient addresses with census data to determine household income quintile, distance to hospital, and social/material deprivation indices.
  • Evaluation of wait times against established pediatric surgical access targets.

Main Results:

  • Overall, 33% of children exceeded referral wait times and 28% exceeded surgical wait times.
  • Socioeconomic status (SES) and material deprivation did not correlate with delays in surgical completion.
  • Increasing patient age was significantly associated with longer wait times for surgery, while gender and distance showed minor or non-significant impacts on timeliness.

Conclusions:

  • Socioeconomic status (SES) is not a predictor of surgical wait times for pediatric patients.
  • The findings suggest that current systems provide equitable access to pediatric surgical services regardless of SES.
  • Further research may explore other factors influencing wait times, such as patient age.
Abstract

Keywords:
access targetsequal access health carehealth care deliverypediatric surgerypublicly funded health caresocioeconomic statuswait times

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