Factors Affecting Health Care Utilization Associations Among Young Adolescents With Persistent or Recurrent Pain

Abstract

Background: It is unclear how family factors affect health care utilization among youth with persistent or recurrent pain, despite potential relevance to interventions targeting treatment barriers. Objective: We aimed to examine health care utilization among young adolescents with persistent or recurrent pain and family factor influences toward higher health care utilization. Methods: We analyzed longitudinal data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study and coded pain as none, infrequent (present 1-2 years), or persistent/recurrent pain (present 3-4 years). Higher health care utilization was coded as nonroutine or emergency department visit at ≥2 years. Parent-reported education, pain status, family income, and insurance status were recorded. Logistic regression examined the contributions of the child’s pain and family factors toward higher health care utilization. Results: Among 5960 youth, 1908 (32%) had persistent/recurrent pain and 2199 (37%) had infrequent pain. Youth with persistent/recurrent pain were more likely to have higher health care utilization compared to those without pain (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 2.39) or those with infrequent pain (OR: 1.79). Higher health care utilization was associated with parents’ pain (adjusted OR: 1.22) and higher education (adjusted OR: 1.44), and family income below the poverty line (adjusted OR: 1.26), controlling for child characteristics and pain status. Conclusion: Findings show how youths’ persistent/recurrent pain, parental, and family socioeconomic factors affect health care utilization among young adolescents, emphasizing a need for family-centered care and economic policies.