Sociodemographic Disparities in Intervention Service Utilization in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Cathina T Nguyen; Paula Krakowiak; Robin Hansen; Irva Hertz-Picciotto; Kathleen Angkustsiri

doi:10.1007/s10803-016-2913-3

Sociodemographic Disparities in Intervention Service Utilization in Families of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

J Autism Dev Disord. 2016 Dec;46(12):3729-3738. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2913-3.

Authors

Cathina T Nguyen^{1

2}, Paula Krakowiak^{1

3}, Robin Hansen^{4

3}, Irva Hertz-Picciotto^{1

3}, Kathleen Angkustsiri^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 95817, USA.
² School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
³ MIND Institute, University of California Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
⁴ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA. kangkustsiri@ucdavis.edu.
⁶ MIND Institute, University of California Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA. kangkustsiri@ucdavis.edu.

Abstract

This study investigates whether sociodemographic factors are associated with utilization of intervention services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment Study. Maternal ethnicity, insurance status, and education for 696 families of children with ASD were available. Children of Black mothers entered intervention earlier compared to White mothers (2 vs. 2.6 years; p = 0.001). Having public insurance was associated with receiving <15 h/week of individual services, while having a Bachelor degree was associated with receiving <15 h/week of classroom-based services. These differences suggest that SES may be a factor in utilization of services. Efforts should be made to ensure that interventions offered are culturally and linguistically accessible.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Family characteristics; Intervention services; Utilization.

MeSH terms

Adult
Autism Spectrum Disorder / therapy*
Black or African American
Child
Educational Status
Ethnicity
Female
Healthcare Disparities / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Insurance Coverage
Male
Patient Acceptance of Health Care / statistics & numerical data*
Socioeconomic Factors*
White People

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding