Rast Jessica E, Koffer Miller Kaitlin H, Bromberg Jennifer, Ventimiglia Jonas, Anderson Kristy A, Shea Lindsay L
A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, Jessica Rast, 3020 Market St. Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
Florida State University College of Social Work, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2025 Jan;29(1):78-86. doi: 10.1007/s10995-024-04020-3. Epub 2024 Nov 22.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent mitigation efforts impacted communities in many ways and placed immense strain on the health care system, impacting access to services. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in prevalence of child health care, child health, and caregiver and household health within children with autism and children with special health care needs (CSHCN) pre-pandemic to early pandemic years.
We examined data from the National Survey of Children's Health to examine changes in child health care, child health, and caregiver and household health for autistic children and CSHCN from 2018 to 2021.
About one-third of children with autism and CSHCN missed preventive checkups due to the COVID-19 pandemic and half had virtual care in 2021. Parents of children with autism had less help with care coordination in 2020 compared to previous years. In CSHCN prevalence of anxiety increased from 2018/2019 to 2021, with a concurrent increase in need for mental health care, this was not seen in children with autism. Finally, difficulty paying medical bills and for food was less common in 2020 and 2021 (compared to 2018/2019).
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the healthcare landscape for everyone, including children with autism and CSHCN as highlighted in this study. Understanding the disruptions and how they impacted populations differently can be helpful in informing plans long-term emergency preparedness. This planning should involve disability inclusive policies, to ensure the most vulnerable groups retain health care access as needed.
2019冠状病毒病疫情及其后的缓解措施在许多方面对社区产生了影响，并给医疗保健系统带来了巨大压力，影响了服务的可及性。本研究的目的是调查在疫情前至疫情早期，自闭症儿童和有特殊医疗需求的儿童（CSHCN）的儿童保健、儿童健康以及照顾者和家庭健康的患病率变化。
我们研究了全国儿童健康调查的数据，以调查2018年至2021年自闭症儿童和CSHCN的儿童保健、儿童健康以及照顾者和家庭健康的变化。
约三分之一的自闭症儿童和CSHCN因2019冠状病毒病疫情错过了预防性检查，2021年有一半儿童接受了虚拟护理。与前几年相比，2020年自闭症儿童的父母在护理协调方面得到的帮助较少。在CSHCN中，焦虑症的患病率从2018/2019年到2021年有所上升，同时心理健康护理需求也有所增加，而自闭症儿童中未出现这种情况。最后，2020年和2021年支付医疗账单和食品费用的困难情况比2018/2019年有所减少。
正如本研究所强调的，2019冠状病毒病疫情改变了包括自闭症儿童和CSHCN在内的所有人的医疗保健格局。了解这些干扰因素以及它们如何对不同人群产生不同影响，有助于为长期应急准备计划提供信息。该计划应包括包容性残疾政策，以确保最脆弱群体在需要时能够获得医疗保健服务。
