Children More Likely to Visit ED for Asthma if Caregiver Has Non-english Language Preference: Study

Children with asthma were more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized for asthma-related health concerns if their caregivers had a non-English language preference, according to a study published in the December 2023 Pediatrics. The study, “Caregiver Language Preference and Healthcare Utilization among Children with Asthma,” published online Nov. 15, analyzed the electronic medical records of 14,431 patients with asthma at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC. The patients were between ages 2-17, and the year studied was 2019. For the 8% of caregivers that had a non-English language preference, their children incurred an increased odds of unscheduled asthma-related ED visits and hospitalizations. In the Hispanic subgroup, the caregivers with non-English language preference were associated with an increased odds of having an asthma-related hospitalization. This remained true after  controlling for age, ethnicity, insurance status, diagnosis of persistent asthma, controller  prescription, and encounter with a primary care provider. Asthma is a complex chronic disease which necessitates a high level of self-management including trigger avoidance, medication adherence, and response to symptoms. The authors suggest more research is necessary to identify the unique barriers for caregivers who speak languages other than English, as well as comprehensive asthma education and support for families that speak languages other English. 

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.