Health and Healthcare Disparities in Pediatric Epilepsy in the United States: A Scoping Review

Abstract

ObjectivesHealth disparities impact epilepsy care in children. Previous efforts to summarize data in this population have been limited. This study sought to understand how this information exists in the literature and identify gaps in knowledge.MethodsA scoping review of peer‐reviewed articles and gray literature was conducted using PRISMA guidelines. Disparity populations (e.g., Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status) and disparity outcomes (e.g., Quality of Life (QOL)/Psychological, Utilization, Mortality/Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy) were identified. A finding was defined as a single result from a discrete statistical analysis of a specific clinical outcome by disparity population. Data extraction identified where this information existed in the literature and how it was reported.ResultsA total of 307 publications revealed 769 unique disparity/equity findings. Disparity populations were unequally represented (p < 0.0001). Sex and Race/Ethnicity had the most findings while Language/Immigration had the fewest. Nearly a quarter of findings (23%) addressed QOL/Psychological outcomes. The highest percentages of disparities were found in the Utilization, Mortality/SUDEP, and Economic categories. Of the 204 publications reporting disparity findings, fewer than half actually intended to investigate disparities as one of their original objectives. Of the disparity findings identified in peer‐reviewed articles, a third were not mentioned in the abstract and 20% were not addressed in the discussion.InterpretationA comprehensive scoping review of health disparities in pediatric epilepsy found that specific disparity populations like Sex and Race/Ethnicity were robustly explored, while Language/Immigration was under‐represented, despite a high rate of disparities. Health‐related outcome categories were also unequally investigated. Disparity findings were often difficult to access within publications. ANN NEUROL 2024;95:733–742