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Comparative Study
. 2020 Jun;24(6):796-804.
doi: 10.1007/s10995-019-02858-6.

Health Care Transition Planning Among Youth with ASD and Other Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders

Benjamin Zablotsky  1 , Jessica Rast  2 , Matthew D Bramlett  3 , Paul T Shattuck  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Health Care Transition Planning Among Youth with ASD and Other Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders

Benjamin Zablotsky et al. Matern Child Health J. 2020 Jun.

Erratum in

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of health care transition components among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 12-17 using the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), compared to youth with other mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders (MBDDs) or youth without MBDDs.

Methods: The 2016 NSCH is a nationally and state representative survey that explores issues of health and well-being among children ages 0-17. Within the NSCH, parents of a subset of youth, ages 12-17, are asked a series of questions about their youth's eventual transition into the adult health care system. The current study explores components of this transition, comparing youth diagnosed with ASD, youth with other mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders (MBDDs), and youth without MBDDs.

Results: Approximately 1-in-4 youth with ASD had actively worked with their doctor to understand future changes to their health care, significantly less than youth with other MBDDs and youth without MBDDs. Fewer than 2-in-5 youth with ASD had met with their doctor privately or had a parent who knew how their youth would be insured when they reached adulthood.

Conclusions: The current analysis of a nationally representative sample of youth reveals discrepancies in the proportion of youth with ASD receiving appropriate health care transition planning compared to youth with other MBDDs and youth without MBDDs. These findings suggest the potential for barriers among youth with ASD to effectively transitioning into the adult health care system.

Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder; Health care; NSCH; Transition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: None to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Prevalence of active work indicators, by MBDD status NOTES: ASD = autism spectrum disorder; MBDD = mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder. Indicators presented are unadjusted estimates. x Significantly different than youth with autism spectrum disorder based on adjusted odds ratio (p<.05). y Significantly different than youth with other mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders based on adjusted odds ratio (p<.05). Odds ratios are adjusted for youth (age, race and ethnicity, sex, insurance status, current IEP) and family (federal poverty level, family structure, highest education, region) demographics.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Number of health care transition components, by MBDD status NOTES: ASD is autism spectrum disorder; MBDD is mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder The three HCT components presented are unadjusted estimates and include active work, insurance, and independence. Youth had to have a parent who endorsed at least three of the four indicators to be considered to meet the active work HCT component. x Significantly different than youth with autism spectrum disorder based on adjusted odds ratio (p<.05). y Significantly different than youth with other mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders based on adjusted odds ratio (p<.05). Odds ratios are adjusted for youth (age, race and ethnicity, sex, insurance status, current IEP) and family (federal poverty level, family structure, highest education, region) demographics.
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