Preterm infants are less likely to have a family-centered medical home than term-born peers

Jonathan S Litt; Marie C McCormick

doi:10.1038/s41372-018-0180-1

Preterm infants are less likely to have a family-centered medical home than term-born peers

J Perinatol. 2018 Oct;38(10):1391-1397. doi: 10.1038/s41372-018-0180-1. Epub 2018 Jul 25.

Authors

Jonathan S Litt^{1

2

3}, Marie C McCormick^{4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Social and Behavioral Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. jlitt@bidmc.harvard.edu.
² Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. jlitt@bidmc.harvard.edu.
³ Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. jlitt@bidmc.harvard.edu.
⁴ Department of Social and Behavioral Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵ Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.

PMID: 30046181
DOI: 10.1038/s41372-018-0180-1

Abstract

Objective: The family-centered medical home (FCMH) is the recommended healthcare delivery model for children. It is unknown how frequently preterm (PT) children receive care in a FCMH and how this affects health services use.

Study design: We studied 18,397 children aged 0-3 years in the 2010/2011 National Survey of Children's Health. We compared PT (<37 weeks) and full-term (FT) children on rates of FCMH and receiving prescribed health services. Regression models included sex, race, income, insurance status, and having a special health care need (SHCN).

Results: PT children were significantly less likely to have a FCMH (57% vs. 66%) compared to FT peers despite higher rates of SHCN (16% vs. 5%). PT children were less likely to receive prescribed services (aOR 0.34, 95% CI 0.34, 0.34); lacking a FCMH explained 69% of this effect.

Conclusions: Ensuring PT children have access to medical homes may decrease unmet service needs post-hospital discharge.

Publication types

Comparative Study

MeSH terms

Child Health Services / organization & administration
Child, Preschool
Disabled Children
Female
Health Services Accessibility / statistics & numerical data*
Health Surveys
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Infant, Premature*
Logistic Models
Male
Patient-Centered Care / organization & administration*
Term Birth
United States