Although the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for all young children, disparities in ASD diagnosis and intervention in minority children persist. ...One potential contributor to disparities could be whether physicians take different actions after an initial positive screen based on patient demographics. This study estimated factors associated with physicians completing the follow-up interview for the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers with Follow-up (M-CHAT-F), and referring children to diagnostic services, audiology, and Early Intervention (EI) immediately after a positive screen.
Children seen in a large primary care network that has implemented universal ASD screening were included if they screened positive on the M-CHAT parent questionnaire during a 16-30 month well child visit (N = 2882). Demographics, screening results, and referrals were extracted from the electronic health record.
Children from lower-income families or on public insurance were more likely to have been administered the follow-up interview. Among children who screened positive, 26% were already in EI, 31% were newly referred to EI, 11% were referred each to audiology and for comprehensive ASD evaluation. 40.2% received at least one recommended referral; 3.7% received all recommended referrals. In adjusted multivariable models, male sex, white versus black race, living in an English-speaking household, and having public insurance were associated with new EI referral. Male sex, black versus white race, and lower household income were associated with referral to audiology. Being from an English-speaking family, white versus Asian race, and lower household income were associated with referral for ASD evaluation. A concurrent positive screen for general developmental concerns was associated with each referral.
We found low rates of follow-up interview completion and referral after positive ASD screen, with variations in referral by sex, language, socio-economic status, and race. Understanding pediatrician decision-making about ASD screening is critical to improving care and reducing disparities.
Early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to be a challenge despite universal screening efforts. One explanation is that screening tools have lower sensitivity and specificity ...than initial studies report when accounting for incomplete follow‐up for all children screened. Sheldrick and colleagues used statistical modeling to demonstrate the impact on sensitivity and specificity when assumptions about the diagnostic outcome of children who do not pursue diagnostic evaluation are altered. Crucially, the work of Sheldrick et al. serves as a reminder that autism screening in primary care is just one component of the clinical assessment and should not be conflated with a diagnostic evaluation. Thus, lack of follow‐up after a positive screen is a feature, not only a bug when using a screen in a clinical setting. Engaging families in shared decision‐making around screening may help encourage follow‐up, and thus, screening tool psychometric performance.
Screening for autism is recommended in pediatric primary care. However, the median age of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis is substantially higher than the age at which autism can reliably be ...identified, suggesting room for improvements in autism recognition at young ages, especially for children from minoritized racial and ethnic groups, low-income families, and families who prefer a language other than English. Novel approaches are being developed to utilize new technologies in aiding in autism recognition. However, attention to equity is needed to minimize bias. Additional research on the benefits and potential harms of universal autism screening is needed. The authors provide suggestions for pediatricians who are considering implementing autism-screening programs.
This study aims to describe the extent of telehealth use by global developmental-behavioral pediatrics (DBP) clinicians and barriers (if any) in adopting telehealth during the coronavirus disease ...2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
A survey was disseminated to DBP clinicians through contact with international professional organizations to determine the use of telehealth in DBP care, before and since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics and χ2 tests were used for analysis.
A total of 271 respondents from 38 countries completed the survey. The number of respondents offering telehealth increased from 36% to 88% after the pandemic, with the greatest shift to telehealth among high-income countries (HICs). Among respondents using telehealth, 75.1% were conducting interactive video visits, with HICs using more telehealth modalities embedded in electronic health records. Most patients (98.7%) were at home for the telehealth encounter. Almost half (46.5%) could not include an interpreter in telehealth visits. Barriers reported by telehealth users included concerns about limited patient access to technology (74.3%), home environment distractions (56.5%), preference for in-person care (53.6%), telehealth effectiveness (48.1%), workflow efficiency (42.2%), and cost/reimbursement (32.1%).
Global DBP clinicians rapidly adopted telehealth and continued to have interprofessional practice while doing so, with the largest adoption occurring in HICs. Provider concerns about effectiveness and patient access to technology emerged as key organizational and patient barriers, respectively. Increased provider confidence in telehealth and its sustained use in the future depends on supportive regulatory policies and availability and use of measures to monitor quality and effectiveness.
Telehealth use in pediatrics increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and may improve health care access. It may also exacerbate health care disparities among families with limited English proficiency ...(LEP).
To systematically review the feasibility, acceptability, and/or associations between telehealth delivery and health outcomes for interventions delivered synchronously in the United States.
PubMed, Embase, and Scopus.
Original research exploring pediatric health outcomes after telehealth delivery and studies that explored the feasibility and acceptability including surveys and qualitative studies.
Patients 0 to 18 years with LEP and/or pediatric caregivers with LEP.
Two authors independently screened abstracts, conducted full-text review, extracted information using a standardized form, and assessed study quality. A third author resolved disagreements.
Of 1831 articles identified, 9 were included in the review. Half of the studies explored videoconferencing and the other half studied health care delivered by telephone. Feasibility studies explored telehealth for children with anxiety disorders and mobile phone support for substance abuse treatment among adolescents. Acceptability studies assessed parental medical advice-seeking behaviors and caregivers' general interest in telehealth. Health outcomes studied included follow-up of home parenteral nutrition, developmental screening, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
The articles were heterogeneous in approach and quality.
Telehealth appears acceptable and feasible among children in families with LEP, with a limited evidence base for specific health outcomes. We provide recommendations both for the implementation of pediatric telehealth and future research.
CRD42020204541.
Telehealth has long held promise as a way to increase access to subspecialty care for children and families, including in developmental and behavioral pediatrics (DBP). The coronavirus disease 2019 ...(COVID-19) pandemic necessitated rapid uptake of telehealth to continue care delivery that was facilitated by "temporary" policy changes related to the pandemic. As a result, the field of DBP has recognized telehealth as a potential model of care for performing home-based diagnostic assessments, providing medication management follow-up, and delivering therapeutic interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Telehealth has been helpful in mitigating barriers families often face when attending in-person visits (lack of transportation and child care, missed work hours, etc) but has also highlighted additional determinants of health that need to be addressed to provide equitable access to care (broadband connectivity, device access, digital literacy, access to interpretation and sign language services, etc). Anticipating the lifting of pandemic-related emergency declaration and expiration of temporary policies around telehealth, the ability to continue to deliver DBP care by telehealth is uncertain. The purpose of this policy statement is to advocate for legislation and policies that support ongoing, equitable, home-based telehealth care for patients seen by DBP providers while ensuring equitable access to DBP in general. In addition, there is a need to recognize the benefits and challenges of telehealth versus in-person care and to identify clinical scenarios that favor 1 model of care versus the other.
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