Satisfaction with care and ease of using health care services among parents of children with special health care needs: the roles of race/ethnicity, insurance, language, and adequacy of family-centered care.

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether racial/ethnic disparities exist in parental reports of satisfaction with care and ease of using health care services among children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and to identify factors associated independently with satisfaction with care and ease of use of health care services among CSHCN. METHODS: We analyzed data for 38,886 CSHCN <18 years of age in the National Survey of CSHCN, conducted from 2000 to 2002. Outcome variables included perceived satisfaction with care and ease of service use. Covariates included sociodemographic factors, insurance, interview language, condition severity and stability, adequacy of family-centered care measures, and having a personal doctor/nurse. RESULTS: The prevalences of reported dissatisfaction with care and problems with ease of using services among parents of CSHCN were 8% and 25%, respectively. Black and Hispanic parents were significantly more likely than white parents to be dissatisfied with care (13% and 16% vs 7%) and to report problems with ease of service use (35% and 34% vs 23%). Hispanic/white disparities in satisfaction with care and ease of use of services disappeared only after multivariate adjustment for parental interview language. Black/white disparities in satisfaction with care disappeared after adjustments for adequacy of family-centered care measures, but black/white disparities in ease of using services persisted. The severity of the child's condition, lack of insurance, parental interview in Spanish, and inadequate family-centered care were associated significantly with dissatisfaction with care and problems with ease of using health care services. CONCLUSIONS: Policies and strategies that reduce language barriers, promote insurance coverage and family-centered care, and improve ease of use of services among minority CSHCN have the potential to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in satisfaction with care and to promote ease of use of services among families with CSHCN.