Ethnicity And Language Linked To Medication Use

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 29 Sep 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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There are significant health care disparities among children, especially Hispanic children, living in the United States. In the study, "Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Association Between Parental Acculturation and Children's Medication Use in the United States," researchers used data from the 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey linked to the National Health Interview Survey to determine how acculturation affects prescription medication use in Hispanic children. Results indicate that older children, children from big families, and children with a non-citizen mother were least likely to use any medication.

Children without a usual source of care or medical home had a lower prevalence of any medication use, 24.3 percent, compared to 51.6 percent of children with a medical home. The study also found that Hispanic, Spanish-interviewed subjects were less likely to have a medical home than were Hispanic, English-interviewed subjects, but both groups had lower odds of using any prescription medication compared to white children. In addition, Hispanic children from acculturated backgrounds are more likely to use psychiatric medications than less-acculturated children, but their use of antibiotics or respiratory medications remain the same.

Source
American Academy of Pediatrics

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