Socioeconomic and demographic patterning of family uptake of a paediatric electronic patient portal innovation

Author:

Solebo Ameenat LolaORCID,Horvat-Gitsels Lisanne,Twomey Christine,Wagner Siegfried Karl,Rahi Jugnoo S

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionPatient portals allowing access to electronic health care records and services can inform and empower, but may widen existing sociodemographic inequities. We aimed to describe associations between activation of a paediatric patient portal and patient race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and markers of previous engagement with health care.MethodsA retrospective single site cross-sectional study was undertaken to examine patient portal adoption amongst families of children receiving care for chronic or complex disorders within the United Kingdom. Descriptive and multivariable regression analysis was undertaken to describe associations between predictors (Race/Ethnicity, age, socio-economic deprivation status based on family residence, and previous non-attendance to outpatient consultations) and outcome.ResultsA sample of 3687 children, representative of the diverse ‘real world’ patient population, was identified. Of these 37% (1364) were from a White British background, 71% (2631) had English as the primary family spoken language (PSL), 14% (532) lived in areas of high deprivation, and 17% (643) had high (>33%) rates of non-attendance. The families of 73% (2682) had activated the portal. In adjusted analyses, English as a PSL (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval 1.66-2.36) was positively associated with portal activation, whilst families from British Black African backgrounds (aOR 0.58, 0.44-0.77), those living in areas of deprivation (aOR 0.81, 0.67-0.98) or with high rates of non-attendance (aOR 0.32, 0.27-0.39) were less likely to use the portal.ConclusionsSocio-economic deprivation, race/ethnicity and previous low engagement with health care services are potentially key drivers of widening inequity in access to health care following the implementation of patient portals, a digital health innovation intended to inform and empower patients. Health care providers should be aware that innovative human-driven engagement approaches, targeted towards under-served communities, are needed to ensure equitable access to high quality patient-centred care.Author SummaryFrom a retrospective cross-sectional study of 3687 children with complex health disorders within a specialist paediatric care centre, the families of 73% had adopted an electronic patient portal within 2.5 years of portal launch. Relative socio-economic deprivation, family ethnic backgrounds and previous poor engagement with health care services were independently associated with lower odds of family adoption There was evidence of a potential differential impact of socioeconomic deprivation and spoken language across different ethnic groups. We report that equitable uptake of digital health services by children’s families requires health care providers to implement engagement approaches developed in partnership with under-served communities. However, those underserved communities should also have access to alternative patient centred communication pathways to ensure true inclusion in health care provision. Care providers must be particularly careful to offer these alternative pathways to families who have struggled to interact with healthcare in the past.

Publisher

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Reference36 articles.

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3