Prevalence of children with special healthcare needs: An epidemiological survey in Brazil

We aimed to estimate the prevalence and delineate the profile of children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) in the three municipalities of Brazil's southern and southeastern regions from 2015 to 2017.

This cross-sectional study included 6853 children aged 0-11 years. Participants were selected through complex sampling in 32 primary healthcare units. The Brazilian version of the Children with Special Healthcare Needs Screener© and a questionnaire were used to identify sociodemographic and family characteristics, health status, and health services utilization. Simple and multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between family and child characteristics and prevalence (P < 0.05).

The prevalence of CSHCN was 25.3% (95% confidence interval: 21.0-30.0). Most participants required health services or were on long-term medication for a current chronic condition; approximately 53% of CSHCN had no formally recorded diagnoses. The most frequent health problems were respiratory conditions, asthma, and allergies. Approximately 60% of the CSHCN patients underwent follow-up examinations of the specialties pneumology, pediatrics, otorhinolaryngology, speech therapy, neurology, and psychology. Children of school age, of male sex, with premature birth, with a history of recurrent hospitalization, from non-nuclear families, and from underprivileged social classes were identified as risk factors for classification as CSHCN.

These results contribute to the unprecedented mapping of these children in healthcare networks in Brazil.

The high prevalence of CSHCN in medium and large municipalities in the southern and southeastern regions was associated with the child's previous health conditions and family structure.