Access to Care for Youth with Special Health Care Needs in the Transition to Adulthood
Received 21 August 2007; accepted 21 December 2007. published online 25 April 2008.
Refers to article:
Youth with Special Health Care Needs: Facilitating a Healthy Transition to Young Adulthood
M. Jane Park, Charles E. Irwin
Journal of Adolescent Health
July 2008 (Vol. 43, Issue 1, Pages 6-7) Full Text |
Full-Text PDF (70 KB)
Abstract
Purpose
To describe access to care and identify factors associated with access for low-income young adults who aged out of a public program for children with special health care needs (CSHCN).
Methods
This was a cross-sectional survey of graduates of the Title V CSHCN program in one California county. Subjects were 77 graduates (55% female) aged 21–24 years with ongoing health care needs. Measures of access to care included having the following: a regular source of care for the main health condition; all needed care since turning 21 years of age; any delayed or forgone care in the past 6 months; health insurance; and continual insurance since turning age 21. Individuals lacking any one access measure were defined as experiencing an adverse transition event.
Results
Of the subjects, 24% lacked a usual source of health care, 27% had gone without some needed health care since turning 21, and 39% had delayed needed care. Although 10% of respondents were uninsured at the time of the survey; 40% had a gap in insurance coverage since turning age 21. Overall, 65% reported at least one adverse transition event affecting access to care. Factors associated with experiencing no adverse transition event were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI, p = .007), having received special education services (p = .003), and having been born with the main health condition (p = .013).
Conclusions
Insurance gaps and delayed care are prevalent among these low-income young adults despite ongoing health problems. Greater transition support might improve access by linking them with a usual source of care, identifying insurance options, and encouraging regular use of care.
dDepartment of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
eDepartment of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California–Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
fRobert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, University of California–Los Angeles Center for Health Sciences, Los Angeles, California
Address correspondence to: Debra S. Lotstein, M.D., M.P.H., Division of Child Health Policy, Department of Pediatrics, UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 1100 Glendon Avenue, Suite 850, Los Angeles, CA 90024.
Sources of support: This work was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program.
ABSTRACT