It Takes a Village: The Relationship Between Robust Parental Support Systems and Forgone Care Among Children
Abstract
Background: Forgoing needed health care could harm a child’s well-being. Robust parental support systems may provide access to emotional, informational, and financial resources that can facilitate parents' appropriate health-seeking behaviors on behalf of their children. This study fills an essential gap in the existing literature by exploring the role of parental support systems in mitigating foregone care within the pediatric population.
Methods: Data were obtained from the 2019-2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). The outcome variable of interest was forgone care, measured as a binary response to whether a child had not received needed healthcare services in the past year. The primary independent variable was the breadth of parental support, measured as a composite score from responses to eight binary questions examining whether parents reported access to emotional support from the following: spouse/partner, family, peers, healthcare providers, places of worship, counselors, health condition support groups or others. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between the breadth of parental support and forgoing needed care, adjusting for potential confounders.
Results: From 2019-2022, about 2,627,455 children did not receive needed care. In multivariable regression analysis, children of parents with a more expansive parental support system (aOR=0.96 [95%CI, 0.92,1.00]), Black children (aOR=0.75[95%CI, 0.58,0.97]) and those with married parents (aOR=0.72 [95%CI, 0.60,0.87]) were less likely to have forgone care. In contrast, uninsured (aOR=2.87 [95%CI, 2.08,3.96]) and older children (aOR=1.06[95%CI, 1.04,1.07]) were more likely to have forgone needed care.
Conclusion & Public Health Implications: Expansive parental support systems may improve child well-being.
Keywords: Parental support systems, Forgone care, Child well-being, Pediatric population, Healthcare providers, Healthcare access and Emotional support
Keywords
Parental support systems, Forgone care, Child well-being, Pediatric population, Healthcare providers, Healthcare access, Emotional support
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It Takes a Village: The Relationship Between Robust Parental Support Systems and Forgone Care Among Children
Background: Forgoing needed health care could harm a child’s well-being. Robust parental support systems may provide access to emotional, informational, and financial resources that can facilitate parents' appropriate health-seeking behaviors on behalf of their children. This study fills an essential gap in the existing literature by exploring the role of parental support systems in mitigating foregone care within the pediatric population.
Methods: Data were obtained from the 2019-2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). The outcome variable of interest was forgone care, measured as a binary response to whether a child had not received needed healthcare services in the past year. The primary independent variable was the breadth of parental support, measured as a composite score from responses to eight binary questions examining whether parents reported access to emotional support from the following: spouse/partner, family, peers, healthcare providers, places of worship, counselors, health condition support groups or others. Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to examine the association between the breadth of parental support and forgoing needed care, adjusting for potential confounders.
Results: From 2019-2022, about 2,627,455 children did not receive needed care. In multivariable regression analysis, children of parents with a more expansive parental support system (aOR=0.96 [95%CI, 0.92,1.00]), Black children (aOR=0.75[95%CI, 0.58,0.97]) and those with married parents (aOR=0.72 [95%CI, 0.60,0.87]) were less likely to have forgone care. In contrast, uninsured (aOR=2.87 [95%CI, 2.08,3.96]) and older children (aOR=1.06[95%CI, 1.04,1.07]) were more likely to have forgone needed care.
Conclusion & Public Health Implications: Expansive parental support systems may improve child well-being.
Keywords: Parental support systems, Forgone care, Child well-being, Pediatric population, Healthcare providers, Healthcare access and Emotional support
