Utilization of Parallel Resources and Sociodemographic Factors in Treating Children with Complex Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

first_pagesettings Open AccessArticle Utilization of Parallel Resources and Sociodemographic Factors in Treating Children with Complex Chronic Diseases: A Cross-Sectional Study by Bibiana Pérez-Ardanaz 1ORCID,María José Peláez-Cantero 2,María González-Cano-Caballero 3,Laura Gutiérrez-Rodríguez 1ORCID,Alberto José Gómez-González 1,Inmaculada Lupiáñez-Pérez 1,4,José Miguel Morales-Asencio 1,4,*ORCID andJosé Carlos Canca-Sánchez 1,4ORCID 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain 2 Paediatric Palliative Care Unit, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, 29011 Málaga, Spain 3 Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Sevilla, 41009 Sevilla, Spain 4 Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga (IBIMA), 29010 Málaga, Spain * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Academic Editor: Henry C. Lee Children 2021, 8(11), 973; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8110973 Received: 7 September 2021 / Revised: 24 October 2021 / Accepted: 26 October 2021 / Published: 28 October 2021 Download PDF Browse Figure Citation Export Abstract Background: Children with complex chronic conditions have a high need for health and social care resources. Many parents explore parallel resources such as alternative therapies, associations, psychological support, private medical consultations, and other out-of-pocket expenses for healthcare. The use of these alternative health resources is sometimes unclear and may lead to health inequalities. To characterize the use made of alternative healthcare resources for children with complex chronic conditions. Additionally, we evaluate the influence of sociodemographic factors on the distribution of this utilization of resources; (2) Methods: Cross-sectional study. Children with complex chronic diseases were treated at a tertiary hospital in Granada, Spain in 2016. We analyzed their use of healthcare resources and socioeconomic variables. This research complies with STROBE guidelines for observational studies; (3) Results: In total, 265 children were analyzed (mean age 7.3 years, SD 4.63). A total of 105 children (39.6%) attended private consultations with specialists, and 12.1% (n = 32) of the children had additional private health insurance. One out three parents belonged to a mutual support association (n = 78), and 26% (n = 69) of the children used alternative therapies. Furthermore, 75.4% (n = 199) of the children received no psychological support. Children whose parents had a higher educational level and occupations status made greater use of parallel healthcare resources.; (4) Conclusions: A significant proportion of children used multiple health resources in addition to the public healthcare system depending on sociodemographic determinants. Studies are needed to determine whether the use of these alternative services achieves better levels of health.