Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Quality of Health Care among Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities

• Published in: Intellectual and developmental disabilities 2012-08, Vol.50 (4), p.287-299
• Main Authors: Magana, Sandra, Parish, Susan L, Rose, Roderick A, Timberlake, Maria, Swaine, Jamie G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Access to Health Care; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; African American Children; African Americans; Autism; Autistic Disorder - therapy; Beliefs; Biological and medical sciences; Black or African American; Black People - statistics & numerical data; Child; Child clinical studies; Child Health; Children & youth; Comparative Analysis; Developmental Disabilities; Developmental Disabilities - therapy; Developmental disorders; Disabilities; Ethnicity; Ethnicity - statistics & numerical data; Evidence; Family Income; Family Structure; Health care; Health Care Surveys; Health Needs; Healthcare Disparities - statistics & numerical data; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic or Latino - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals; Humans; Infantile autism; Insurance; Intellectual deficiency; Interaction; Medical sciences; Medical Services; Minority & ethnic groups; National Surveys; Parent Education; Patients; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Physicians; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Quality of Health Care - standards; Quality of Health Care - statistics & numerical data; Race; Racial Differences; Racial Groups - statistics & numerical data; Special Health Problems; State Surveys; United States; White People - statistics & numerical data; Whites
• ISSN: 1934-9556; 1934-9491; 1934-9556
• DOI: 10.1352/1934-9556-50.4.287

We examined racial and ethnic disparities in quality of care for children with autism and other developmental disabilities and whether disparities varied for children with autism compared to children with other developmental disabilities. Analyzing data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (N = 4,414), we compared Black and Latino children to White children. We found racial and ethnic disparities on 5 of 6 quality outcomes. The interaction between race and disability status indicated that disparities in quality indicators were exacerbated among families of children with autism. These analyses suggest that children with autism, particularly those who are Latino and Black, face greater challenges in receiving high-quality health care.