Racial, Ethnic Disparities ID’d in Pediatric Acute Asthma Care

WEDNESDAY, March 30, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- Patterns of clinic and emergency department acute care use differ for non-Hispanic Black and Spanish-preferring Latine versus non-Hispanic White children with asthma, according to a study published in the March issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Jorge Kaufmann, M.D., from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, and colleagues conducted an observational study using electronic health records from community health centers in 18 states to measure disparities by race, ethnicity, and language in pediatric acute asthma care. Non-Hispanic Black, English-preferring Latine, Spanish-preferring Latine, and non-Hispanic White children aged 3 to 17 years with visits for clinic-coded asthma exacerbations were compared during 2012 to 2018.

The researchers found that among 41,276 children with asthma, the odds of clinic visits for asthma exacerbation were increased for Spanish-preferring Latine children versus non-Hispanic White children (odds ratio, 1.10). In a subsample of 6,555 children insured under Oregon-Medicaid, the odds and rates of asthma-related emergency department use were increased for non-Hispanic Black versus non-Hispanic White children (odds ratio, 1.40; rate ratio, 1.49). Asthma-related inpatient admissions did not differ between the groups.

"Future research can investigate which features of the community health center delivery approach can be improved or expanded to reach all populations in need of care," Kaufmann said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text