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Sociodemographic Differences in Diagnosis and Treatment of Pediatric Headache

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University, and Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio
² University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Jack.Stevens{at}nationwidechildrens.org.

	Abstract

The authors investigated the sociodemographic differences in receiving a headache diagnosis for pediatric health care visits using 2 nationally representative databases—the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. For those visits involving a headache diagnosis, the authors explored 2 possible disparities in care—being diagnosed by a neurologist and being prescribed an evidence-based medication. A headache diagnosis was less common during visits for private insurance patients versus Medicaid patients. In addition, while a headache diagnosis was equally likely for visits by Caucasian American children versus African American children and children of other races, visits for the latter 2 groups were less likely to involve a headache diagnosis from a neurologist. Finally, only 37% of the headache visits involved a prescription of an evidence-based medication. The authors conclude that some sociodemographic disparities exist in pediatric headache care across the United States.

First published on October 6, 2009
Journal of Child Neurology 2009, doi:10.1177/0883073809343314


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