RT Journal
A1 Galbraith AA, Smith LA, Bokhour B, et al
T1 ASthma care quality for children with minority-serving providers
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2010
FD January 1
VO 164
IS 1
SP 38
OP 45
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.243
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2009.243
AB Objective 
    To compare asthma care quality for children with and without minority-serving providers.Design 
    Cross-sectional telephone survey of parents, linked with a mailed survey of their children's providers.Setting 
    A Medicaid-predominant health plan and multispecialty provider group in Massachusetts.Participants 
    A total of 563 children with persistent asthma, identified by claims and encounter data.Main Exposure 
    Whether the child's provider was minority serving (>25% of patients black or Latino).Outcomes 
    Parent report of whether the child had (1) ever received inhaled steroids, (2) received influenza vaccination during the past season, and (3) received an asthma action plan in the past year.Results 
    In unadjusted analyses, Latino children and those with minority-serving providers were more likely to have never received inhaled steroids. In adjusted models, the odds of never receiving inhaled steroids were not statistically significantly different for children with minority-serving providers (odds ratio [OR], 1.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63-2.64), or for Latino vs white children (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 0.74-4.18); odds were increased for children receiving care in community health centers (OR, 4.88; 95% CI, 1.70-14.02) or hospital clinics (OR, 4.53; 95% CI, 1.09-18.92) vs multispecialty practices. Such differences were not seen for influenza vaccinations or action plans.Conclusions 
    Children with persistent asthma are less likely to receive inhaled steroids if they receive care in community health centers or hospital clinics. Practice setting mediated initially observed disparities in inhaled steroid use by Latino children and those with minority-serving providers. No differences by race/ethnicity or minority-serving provider were observed for influenza vaccinations or asthma action plans.