Chronic Illness in Children and Foregone Care Among Household Adults in the United States

Abstract

Background: Childhood chronic illness imposes financial burdens that may affect the entire family. Objective: The aim was to assess whether adults living with children with 2 childhood chronic illnesses—asthma and diabetes—are more likely to forego their own medical care, and experience financial strain, relative to those living with children without these illnesses. Research Design: 2009–2018 National Health Interview Survey. Subjects: Adult-child dyads, consisting of one randomly sampled child and adult in each family. Measures: The main exposure was a diagnosis of asthma or diabetes in the child. The outcomes were delayed/foregone medical care for the adult as well as family financial strain; the authors evaluated their association with the child’s illness using multivariable logistic regressions adjusted for potential confounders. Results: The authors identified 93,264 adult-child dyads; 8499 included a child with asthma, and 179 a child with diabetes. Families with children with either illness had more medical bill problems, food insecurity, and medical expenses. Adults living with children with each illness reported more health care access problems. For instance, relative to other adults, those living with a child with asthma were more likely to forego/delay care (14.7% vs. 10.2%, adjusted odds ratio: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.16–1.39) and were more likely to forego medications, specialist, mental health, and dental care. Adults living with a child with diabetes were also more likely to forego/delay care (adjusted odds ratio: 1.76; 95% CI: 1.18–2.64). Conclusions: Adults living with children with chronic illnesses may sacrifice their own care because of cost concerns. Reducing out-of-pocket health care costs, improving health coverage, and expanding social supports for families with children with chronic conditions might mitigate such impacts.