Mental health, race and ethnicity, and medical home in children with special health care needs

ABSTRACT

Mental health concerns are common in children with chronic health conditions, and concerns and treatment vary by race and ethnicity. This study used the National Survey of Children’s Health 2019–2020 to examine the role of the medical home in addressing racial and ethnic disparities in access to mental health care. Our study identified racial and ethnic disparities in both medical home access and mental health care use among children and youth with special health care needs ages 6–17. These differences may be driven by different practice behaviors or preexisting levels of access to services by race and ethnicity.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data can be accessed through the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health at http://childhealthdata.org/

Additional information

Funding

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number R40MC37542 and R40 Maternal and Child Health Field-initiated Innovative Research Studies Program. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.