LITTLE ROCK — A new study by two Arkansas professors says special-needs children with medical complexity who see multiple specialists for more than one chronic condition are more likely to have a health care need go unmet.
The study appears in the December issue of the journal Health Affairs. It was written by Dr. Dennis Kuo, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, and Anthony Goudie, assistant professor of pediatrics.
The paper compares inequities of children with special needs to those of children with special needs who also have medical complexity, a condition which, according to a 2013 report by the Children's Hospital Association, is marked by having chronic, severe health conditions; substantial health service needs; major functional limitations; and high use of health resources.
The inequities examined were based on race or ethnicity, primary language in the household, insurance type and poverty status.
The results indicate children with medical complexity are more than twice as likely to have at least one unmet need compared with children with special needs without medical complexity.