COVID crisis kept parents away from pediatric ERs early on, may still be doing so
Almost a quarter of families would have balked before bringing an ill or injured child to the emergency department last spring, when COVID-19’s initial surge was underway in the U.S.
That’s according to a survey conducted at 312-bed Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Academic Emergency Medicine posted the researchers’ findings Jan. 25.
Pediatric emergency-care specialist Michelle Macy, MD, and colleagues drew completed responses from just under 3,900 demographically mixed parents or guardians of children in the hospital’s EHR.
The team’s analysis of the results showed 23% of all respondents hesitant to seek emergency care for their child.
The caregivers with the highest rate of hesitancy, 27% of 1,305 parents and guardians, were those living in areas with low or very low scores on the national Child Opportunity Index (COI).
Lower COI scores correlate with higher barriers to socioeconomic self-sufficiency, and these populations historically have had high utilization of pediatric emergency services.
By comparison, 23% of the 740 caregivers from moderate COI areas indicated feeling such hesitancy, as did 19% of the 1,851 living in affluent areas with high or very high COI areas.
Also of note, around one-third of families of color, as well as one-third of those on public insurance, said they’d be unlikely to take an ailing child to the ER.
Some 36% of families speaking Spanish at home also indicated they’d think twice rather than act swiftly.
“Greater hesitancy within vulnerable populations could exacerbate health disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Macy and co-authors comment in their discussion. “Health systems and health plans should monitor acute care utilization and intervene with caregivers to ensure children are receiving necessary and timely care for emergency conditions.”
In coverage of the study by Lurie’s news division, Macy adds that, almost 11 months into the pandemic, the hospital’s ER is still seeing only half of its normal volumes.
“This is concerning, since delays in emergency care may lead to a child’s condition worsening to the point where they require hospital admission,” she says, adding that avoidance of pediatric healthcare services during a public health crisis could worsen existing inequities in outcomes.
The research report is available in full for free (PDF).
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.