Income and Household Material Hardship in Children With Medical Complexity

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Household economic hardship negatively impacts child health but may not be adequately captured by income. We sought to determine the prevalence of household material hardship (HMH), a measure of household economic hardship, and to examine the relationship between household poverty and material hardship in a population of children with medical complexity. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey study of parents of children with medical complexity receiving primary care at a tertiary children’s hospital. Our main predictor was household income as a percentage of the federal poverty limit (FPL): <50% FPL, 51% to 100% FPL, and >100% FPL. Our outcome was HMH measured as food, housing, and energy insecurity. We performed logistic regression models to calculate adjusted odds ratios of having ≥1 HMH, adjusted for patient and clinical characteristics from surveys and the Pediatric Health Information System. RESULTS At least 1 material hardship was present in 40.9% of participants and 28.2% of the highest FPL group. Families with incomes <50% FPL and 51% to 100% FPL had ∼75% higher odds of having ≥1 material hardship compared with those with >100% FPL (<50% FPL: odds ratio 1.74 [95% confidence interval: 1.11–2.73], P = .02; 51% to 100% FPL: 1.73 [95% confidence interval: 1.09–2.73], P = .02). CONCLUSIONS Poverty underestimated household economic hardship. Although households with incomes <100% FPL had higher odds of having ≥1 material hardship, one-quarter of families in the highest FPL group also had ≥1 material hardship.