title: Cultural considerations in the care of children with spina bifida.
abstract: Spina bifida occurs when the neural tube fails to close during early fetal development, resulting in a range of neural tube defects (NTDs). The cause of spina bifida is not fully understood, but scientists believe that NTDs are the result of genetic and environmental factors acting simultaneously. The Centers for Disease Control reports that spina bifida and other NTDs occur more frequently in some ethnic groups, such as Hispanic people, than in others. The United States is increasingly multicultural and diverse, and it is becoming more difficult to categorize individuals into a single racial/ethnic group. This article uses the term ethnicity as defined by the Institute of Medicine and avoids using race unless part of a particular study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, University of Southern California, 4650 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA. kasmith@chla.usc.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Kurt A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neville-Jan
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mizokawa
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D016135:Spinal Dysraphism / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology