COMPARING WAIT TIMES OF SINGLE-MOTHER AND TWO-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS ACCESSING DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES THROUGH SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CLINICS

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND Families in inner-city neighborhoods experience socioeconomic challenges that inhibit access to healthcare providers who could detect development concerns in children. Additionally, studies show low-income, single motherhood to be a significant risk factor for childhood developmental issues. With wait times for developmental assessments and publicly funded services ranging from 9 to 18 months, children may not receive diagnosis and support in a timely manner. School-based health clinics (SBHCs) are easy access points for children to receive necessary services, such as diagnoses and management of health and developmental concerns especially for inner city children facing barriers to health care access. OBJECTIVES To measure the efficacy of SBHCs in alleviating barriers to developmental services for children from inner-city, single-mother households, by comparing wait times to children from two-parent households. DESIGN/METHODS A retrospective chart review of 700 children from two inner-city SBHCs was conducted over 7 years. Family demographic data were collected through the registration process and analyzed. Wait times for developmental assessments were determined from the first developmental concern to assessment by a developmental paediatrician. Independent t-tests were used to compare wait times for children from single-mother households to children from two-parent households. RESULTS The mean age of children seen was 6.9 years (two-parent households) and 7.6 years (single-mother households). 35% of children from single-mother households (n=169), and 36% of children from two-parent households (n=369) received referrals to the SBHC developmental paediatrician. The mean wait times were 129.08 days for single-mother households, and 105.81 days for two-parent households. No significant difference was found in wait time from first developmental concern to seeing a developmental paediatrician (p>0.05). CONCLUSION The SBHC program is a novel healthcare delivery model alleviating barriers to developmental healthcare access for both single-mother and two-parent families. Wait times experienced by SBHC users to see developmental specialists were shorter than the times reported in the literature. The lack of significant difference in wait times between children from single-mother and two-parent households demonstrates how SBHCs alleviate barriers to single-mother households as effectively as two-parent households.