Life Course Health Patterns and Health Care Utilization among Adolescents and Adults with Spina Bifida

2012

Laura M. Robinson
[email protected]
585-760-6380

Survey of youth and adults with spina bifida to evaluate the impact of spina bifida on health status and access to care. Only 25% of the sample lived independently and 34% were employed. Individuals surveyed had almost seven different affected organ systems. Only 59% reported having good or excellent health; those with fewer organ systems involved had better overall health. Subjects averaged four visits to a specialty health care provider in the 24 month period preceding the study and 71% reported having difficulty accessing health care, which was associated with worse overall health. Increasing age generally was not a factor in determining the health status of the cohort. People with spina bifida are medically complex; they have multiple organ systems involved and report lower than typical overall health. They receive care from multiple providers, and note difficulty accessing services.

Peer-reviewed publications in scholarly journals submitted

Consumers/Families, Professionals, Policymakers, Students

N/A