Disparities in the National Prevalence of a Quality Medical Home for Children With Asthma

Objective m of this study was to examine sociodemographic disparities in having a quality medical home among a nationally representative sample of children with asthma. s udy examined data from the 2003 National Survey of Childrenʹs Health to identify 8360 children aged 2–17 years with asthma. Risk factors including nonwhite race/ethnicity, income <200% of the federal poverty level (FPL), uninsured, parent education less than high school, and non-English language, were examined individually and as a profile of risk in relation to a quality medical home. Fourteen questions were used to measure 5 medical home features: access, continuity, comprehensiveness, family-centered care, and coordination. A poorer quality medical home was defined as ≤66 on a 100-point scale—corresponding to the feature being present less than “usually”—for each feature and for an overall score. s and after adjustment for demographics and asthma difficulties, most risks except less than high school parent education were related to a poorer quality medical home. Uninsured children had the highest odds of a poorer quality medical home overall (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 5.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.52–7.65) and across most features, except for coordination. Children experiencing 3+ risks had 8.56 times the odds of a poorer quality medical home overall (95% CI 4.95–14.78) versus zero risks. sions tudy demonstrates large national disparities in a quality medical home for children with asthma. That disparities were most prevalent for the uninsured (insurance being a modifiable risk factor) suggests increasing coverage is essential to assuring that children obtain a quality medical home.