4.4 Article

Where are US outpatient mental health facilities that serve children with autism spectrum disorder? A national snapshot of geographic disparities

期刊

AUTISM
卷 26, 期 1, 页码 169-177

出版社

SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/13623613211024046

关键词

autism spectrum disorders; health services

资金

  1. National Institute of Mental Health [R01MH112760]

向作者/读者索取更多资源

Despite the rise in observed prevalence of autism spectrum disorder, only half of outpatient mental health treatment facilities offer care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Rural and lower socioeconomic status counties are less likely to have facilities providing care for this population.
Despite a rise in the observed prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children, few estimates exist of the share of US outpatient mental health treatment facilities that provide services for children with autism spectrum disorder. We identified key facility- and county-level characteristics in offering mental health care for children with autism spectrum disorder. This study utilized a secret shopper telephone survey to contact almost all outpatient mental health treatment facilities in the contiguous United States. We estimated multivariable regressions to examine county- and facility-level predictors of offering services for children with autism spectrum disorder. We found that 50.3% of 6156 outpatient facilities reported offering care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Non-metro counties, counties with a lower percentage of non-White residents, counties with a higher percentage of uninsured residents, and counties with a higher poverty rate had fewer outpatient mental health treatment facilities providing care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Facilities accepting Medicaid as a form of payment, offering telehealth, and private for-profit facilities were more likely to provide services for children with autism spectrum disorder. Only half of outpatient mental health treatment facilities offered care for children with autism spectrum disorder, and both rural and lower socioeconomic status counties were less likely to have a facility offering care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Lay abstract There has been a rise in the observed prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children. Existing studies show the share of counties with a treatment facility that offers care for children with autism spectrum disorder. However, no estimates exist of the share of US outpatient mental health treatment facilities that provide services for children with autism spectrum disorder. We identified key facility-level characteristics in offering mental health care for children with autism spectrum disorder. We used a telephone survey to contact almost all outpatient mental health treatment facilities in the contiguous United States. We asked the facilities if they provided mental health care for children with autism spectrum disorder. We took the results of this survey and estimated multivariable regressions to examine county- and facility-level predictors of offering services. We found that over half (50.3%) of the 6156 outpatient facilities reported offering care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Non-metro counties, counties with a lower percentage of non-White residents, counties with a higher percentage of uninsured residents, and counties with a higher poverty rate had fewer outpatient mental health treatment facilities providing care for children with autism spectrum disorder. Facilities accepting Medicaid as a form of payment, offering telehealth, and private for-profit facilities were more likely to provide services for children with autism spectrum disorder. Because only half of outpatient mental health treatment facilities offer care for children with autism spectrum disorder, public health officials and policymakers should do more to ensure that this vulnerable population has access to mental health services.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.4
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据