Health service deficits and school-aged children with asthma: A population-based study using data from the 2007-2008 National Survey of Child Health

Background: Asthma is one of the most common and costly illnesses of childhood. This study addresses health services deficits experienced by school-aged children with asthma. Methods: Analyzing data from the 2007-2008 National Survey of Child Health, this cross-sectional study used household income, race/ethnicity, and geographic residency as the primary independent variables and health service deficits as the dependent variable. Results: Multivariate analysis yielded that other/multiracial (odds ratio [OR], 1.234; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.226-1.242) and Hispanic (OR, 2.207; 95% CI, 1.226-1.242) school-aged children with asthma had greater odds of having health services deficits as did both urban (OR, 1.106; 95% CI, 1.099-1.113) and rural (OR, 1.133; 95% CI, 1.124-1.142) school-aged children with asthma. Children with either moderate (OR, 1.195; 95% CI, 1.184-1.207) or mild (OR, 1.445; 95% CI, 1.431-1.459) asthma had greater odds of having a health services deficit than those with severe asthma. Low-income school-aged children with asthma had greater odds of having a health services deficit than high-income children (OR, 1.031; 95% CI, 1.026-1.036). At lesser odds of having a health service deficit were those who were African American, of middle-range income, male, or who were school-aged children with asthma in good to excellent health. Conclusion: Both African American and other/multiracial school-aged children were at greater risk of having asthma than either Caucasian or Hispanic children. Three vulnerable subgroups of school-aged children with asthma - rural, Hispanic, and those of low income were the most likely to have health service deficits.