Socioeconomic status and medication adherence among youth with asthma: the mediating role of frequency of children's daily routines

Objective The current research aims to examine a potential explanation for SES disparities in youth medication adherence: the frequency of children's daily routines. Design In a cross-sectional sample of 194 youth with asthma (112 boys and 82 girls; average age = 12.8 years old) and their primary caregivers primarily from the Detroit metropolitan area, caregivers reported their SES and the frequency of their children's daily routines during the first laboratory visit. At a follow-up visit, caregivers and their children completed the Family Asthma Management System Scale (FAMSS), a well-validated, semi-structured interview that assess children's degree of adherence to prescribed medications. Main Outcome Measures Children's daily routines were measured with the Child Routines Inventory while children's medication adherence was measured with the FAMSS. Results Mediation analyses revealed that the association between subjective (but not objective) SES and medication adherence was partially mediated by the frequency of children's daily routines. Conclusion These results suggest that the frequency of children's daily routines is an important factor linking SES and medication adherence, a finding with important implications for improving health outcomes and reducing health disparities between low SES children and their high SES counterparts.