Socioeconomic Status, Rurality, and Pediatric Critical Care Admission
Jeffrey N Bone1,2, Ye Shen1, Stella Harden3
1BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada.
Insights
Children in rural areas and neighborhoods with high socioeconomic disadvantage face a greater risk of pediatric critical care admission. These disparities are particularly pronounced in rural regions, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care
- Public health
- Socioeconomic determinants of health
Background:
- Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation is linked to increased pediatric critical illness.
- Structural factors contributing to these disparities require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between area-level socioeconomic deprivation, rurality, and pediatric critical care admission rates.
- To identify specific populations at higher risk for critical care admission.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study utilizing linked data from British Columbia, Canada (2014-2023).
- Inclusion of children aged 0-17 years admitted to intensive care units.
- Analysis of age, sex, rurality, and neighborhood situational vulnerability using Poisson regression models.
Main Results:
- Higher incidence of critical care admission was observed in rural areas and regions with greater socioeconomic disadvantage.
- The association between socioeconomic vulnerability and critical care admission was significant in rural settings but not in urban centers.
- Children in the most deprived rural areas experienced the highest critical care admission rates.
Conclusions:
- Children residing in rural areas and socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods have a disproportionately higher burden of critical care admissions.
- The link between socioeconomic vulnerability and critical care incidence is specific to rural and small population centers.
- Targeted strategies are essential to address disparities and improve access to pediatric acute care in underserved regions.
Importance:
Neighborhood-level socioeconomic deprivation has been associated with higher incidence and severity of pediatric critical illness; however, structural factors underlying observed differences have received limited attention.
Objective:
To describe the association between area-level deprivation, rurality, and incidence of critical care admission among children.
Design, Setting, And Participants:
This retrospective cohort study used linked data of individuals aged 0 to 17 years who were admitted to intensive care units in British Columbia (BC), Canada, between 2014 and 2023. Data were analyzed from June to November 2025.
Exposures:
Age, sex, rurality, and neighborhood situational vulnerability (a measure of socioeconomic disadvantage).
Main Outcomes And Measures:
The primary outcome was the incidence rate of critical care admission. Poisson regression models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) between exposure groups. The possible interaction between situational vulnerability quintile and population center type was examined.
Results:
A total of 10 048 children were admitted 13 990 times to intensive care units (incidence rate of 154 per 100 000 person years). Most admissions were for male children (7641 [54.6%]) and children younger than 5 years (7528 [53.8%]). The IRR for rural or small population centers compared with medium or large was 1.35 (95% CI, 1.28-1.41). Similarly, the IRR for the most vs least deprived quintile was 1.31 (95% CI, 1.23-1.39); however, in medium or large population centers, there was no association between situational vulnerability quintile and critical care admission (eg, quintile 5 vs 1: IRR 1.04; 95% CI, 0.97-1.12). Those in rural or small areas of the most deprived quintile had the highest overall rate (IRR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.87-2.19 vs highest quintile in large or medium population centers).
Conclusions And Relevance:
In this retrospective cohort study there was higher burden of critical care admission for children living in rural areas and small population centers, and areas with higher situational vulnerability. The association between situational vulnerability and critical care incidence was unique to rural or small regions. Targeted strategies are needed to address contributing factors and ensure timely access to pediatric acute care in underserved areas.
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