title: "When everything changes:" Parent perspectives on the challenges of accessing care for a child with a disability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health disparities exist among individuals living in rural and urban contexts in terms of access to health care and overall mortality. These disparities are typically greater for youth with disabilities living in rural areas, who face additional barriers in receiving health and support services specific to their disability. Parents are typically the ones responsible for coordinating the care needed by children with a disability; however, with numerous barriers present families are not provided adequate support to care for a child with disabilities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine barriers and facilitators to accessing health and support services among urban and rural families of children with disabilities.
  
  
  METHODS
  In-depth interviews were conducted with parents who provide care for an adolescent with a disability. The sample was comprised of parents from one rural county (N = 9) and one urban county (N = 10) in Georgia. Parental interviews were conducted face to face by a trained researcher. Each interview was audio-recorded. The recordings were transcribed and content analysis used to create codes and identify emerging themes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The common themes found during the analysis include accessibility of health and support resources, transitions, and social isolation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When comparing urban and rural areas, barriers to access do differ in terms of availability, but analysis revealed more similarities existed among parents from both contexts. Efforts must be made to increase opportunities for youth with disabilities to become connected with the local community in order to improve quality of life for families.
authors.affiliation: Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA. Electronic address: awalker@georgiasouthern.edu.
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA.
authors.forename: Moya L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Alfonso
authors.affiliation: Georgia Southern University, School of Health and Kinesiology, P.O. Box 8076, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA.
authors.forename: Gavin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Colquitt
authors.affiliation: Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weeks
authors.affiliation: Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, P.O. Box 8015, Statesboro, GA 30460, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Telfair
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005845:Georgia; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012934:Social Isolation; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Accessing care; Adolescence; Caregiving; Disability; Quality of life