Parents' reports of barriers to care for pediatric otolaryngology patients

Objective: To understand parent perceptions of types and severity of barriers to care within the pediatric otolaryngology patient population in WV. Study design: Descriptive survey. Setting: University pediatric otolaryngology clinic, Morgantown, WV. Subjects and methods: Subjects were caretakers of pediatric patients in clinic. Subjects were asked to complete the modified validated Barriers to Care Questionnaire (BCQ) and to provide some demographic details.Each BCQ question response was reported as a Mean Total Score (MTS), ranging from 0 (complete barrier) to 100 (no barrier) and they were grouped into 5 BTC subscales. Demographic question responses were used to establish subgroups. Data for subscale groups was compared across the demographic subgroups using non-parametric methods. Results: 301 parents provided responses. The overall mean BTC was 91.59 (95% CI 90.12-93.05). The Expectations and Pragmatics subscales were the two greatest barriers at 88.56 and 90.80, respectively. 26.7% reported no barriers to care. No statistically significant association was found among subscale scores and demographic subgroups. Conclusions: Parents of pediatric otolaryngology patients in WV demonstrate low expectations of the healthcare system. There are concerns about pragmatics that could create barriers. Our hope is to spur scientific interest in this understudied healthcare topic. Future studies should be conducted to identify association/causation and help establish a framework for addressing potential barriers to care in the pediatric population.