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Do Unmet Health Needs Drive Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization?: A Population-Based Assessment

Sakina Sojar, Annie Gjelsvik, Hoi See Tsao

    Pediatric Emergency Care
    |February 26, 2021
    PubMed

    Insights

    Unmet health needs did not significantly drive pediatric emergency department (ED) visits. Factors like race, insurance, and health status were more strongly linked to frequent ED use in children.

    Area of Science:

    • Pediatric Health Services Research
    • Health Services Utilization
    • Public Health

    Background:

    • Access to healthcare services is crucial for preventing unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits.
    • Previous research suggests a link between unmet health care needs and increased ED utilization, particularly in pediatric populations.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To assess the relationship between unmet health care needs and pediatric emergency department (ED) utilization in the United States.
    • To identify factors associated with higher ED visit rates among children.

    Main Methods:

    • Utilized data from the National Survey of Children's Health (2016-2017; n=71,360).
    • Parent/guardians reported ED visits and unmet health needs (medical, dental, mental health, vision, hearing, other).
    • Analyzed associations using multinomial logistic regression, accounting for survey design and weighting.

    Main Results:

    • Children with two or more unmet health needs showed a higher initial risk of ≥2 ED visits (3.72 times).
    • This association became nonsignificant after adjusting for demographic, insurance, and health-related factors.
    • Race, insurance status, young age (0-3 years), medication status, asthma, preventative visits, and poorer health status were significantly associated with ≥2 ED visits.

    Conclusions:

    • Unmet health needs were not a significant predictor of pediatric ED utilization.
    • Demographic and health status factors appear to be more influential drivers of ED use.
    • Further research is needed to understand the complex factors influencing ED use in high-risk pediatric populations.
    Abstract

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