title: Barriers to care for children with orofacial clefts in North Carolina.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the barriers faced by families of children with birth defects in obtaining healthcare. We examined reported perceived barriers to care and satisfaction with care among mothers of children with orofacial clefts.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2006, a validated barriers to care mail/phone survey was administered in North Carolina to all resident mothers of children with orofacial clefts born between 2001 and 2004. Potential participants were identified using the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program, an active, state-wide, population-based birth defects registry. Five barriers to care subscales were examined: pragmatics, skills, marginalization, expectations, and knowledge/beliefs. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. Results were stratified by cleft type and presence of other birth defects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 475 eligible participants, 51.6% (n = 245) responded. The six most commonly reported perceived barriers to care were all part of the pragmatics subscale: having to take time off work (45.3%); long waits in the waiting rooms (37.6%); taking care of household responsibilities (29.7%); meeting other family members' needs (29.5%); waiting too many days for appointments (27.0%); and cost (25.0%). Most respondents (72.3%, 175/242) felt "very satisfied" with their child's cleft care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although most participants reported being satisfied with their child's care, many perceived barriers to care were identified. Due to the limited understanding and paucity of research on barriers to care for children with birth defects, including orofacial clefts, additional research on barriers to care and factors associated with them are needed.
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Cynthia H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Cassell
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Strassle
authors.forename: Dara D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.forename: Kyung A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krohmer
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Ronald P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Strauss
mesh_terms: D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009657:North Carolina; D012042:Registries; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: access to health care; birth defects; cleft lip; cleft palate; health services accessibility; orofacial clefts