Better Health Service Use for Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs.

Abstract

* Abbreviations: CSHCN — : children with special health care needs ED — : emergency department The article by Fuller et al,1 which examines relationships between family material hardships, resilience, and suboptimal health care use, is a refreshing and constructive step forward in unpacking the relationship between family difficulties, ability to cope with those difficulties, and health care needs that both go unmet and are met through the less-desirable route of the emergency department (ED). Including children both with and without special health care needs, this article paves the way toward potential practical interventions to enhance family resilience and mitigate material hardships that could address the difficult problem of excessive ED use and, instead, point families toward care that meets their child’s needs in a more durable way. In previous work,2 the authors added to the growing body of evidence3,4 linking material hardships with unmet health care needs and increased ED … Address correspondence to Christopher J. Stille, MD, MPH, Section of General Academic Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado, 13123 E 16th Ave, Mailstop B032, Aurora, CO 80045. E-mail: christopher.stille{at}childrenscolorado.org