Academic articles on testing and treatment barriers in areas with poor access to resources highlight the challenges of providing care to ‘underserved populations.’ These barriers include a lack of required services, inexperienced and/or busy healthcare workers, less access to tools used for diagnosis, and high costs. In these settings, diagnoses for neurodevelopmental conditions may be delayed or inaccurate. Cultural and/or language differences, as well as not knowing about neurodevelopmental conditions, can make it even harder to access testing and treatment. Current research focuses on creating affordable solutions and emphasizes community-based programs and telemedicine to bridge gaps in service. It is important to address these barriers so that everyone has equal opportunities to get the care they need and deserve (also known as health equity).
Article Summary:
by Jordan Edwards, Mahdis Kamali, and Katholiki Georgiades
What is the authors’ objective?
The authors used survey data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth to analyze the commonness of barriers in accessing care for neurodevelopmental concerns of young people. They then used these results to compare the experiences of different populations.
What did they find?
The 2019 survey showed that 11.65% of surveyed youth required or received services for neurodevelopmental concerns. 31.7% of those with neurodevelopmental concerns reported barriers to accessing care. When looking at barriers as a whole, the authors found no variations in barriers across the country. When analyzing for specific barriers, they found that barriers to accessing care for neurodevelopment concerns in BC were frequently related to “other reasons” as opposed to “wait times too long,” “service not available in area,” “cost,” and “told child not eligible.”
What do they recommend?
The authors highlighted the usefulness of having Canada-wide survey data for making comparisons on barriers to access across the provinces. They promoted the value of evidence-based policy to address inequities in accessing healthcare. They believed further work on policy and service delivery was required.
Anything else?
The authors stated that considerable data is missing for the following populations: youth living on First Nations reserves, youth who are homeless or living in foster care, and youth who are institutionalized.