The Medical Home Experience of Low-income Children with Non-Urgent Encounters in Acute Care Settings.
Assess relationships between having a medical home and health care-seeking behavior attitudes among parents of low-income children with non-urgent encounters in acute settings (emergency, urgent care centers).



We analyzed data from 1,743 publicly insured children within non-urgent encounters. Parents completed surveys assessing medical home access and attitudes regarding health care-seeking behavior. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate relationships between medical home access and attitudes.



Forty percent of children with non-urgent acute care encounters had medical homes. Having a medical home was positively associated with always calling the doctor before going to acute care settings and preference to take a child to their doctor if the doctor's office was open evenings and weekends.



Although having a medical home is associated with positive attitudes regarding health care-seeking behavior, it may not suffice to overcome other barriers that precipitate non-urgentencounters.
Jean L
JL
Raphael
Carl
C
Tapia
Leah S
LS
Fischer
John
J
McKeever
Angelo P
AP
Giardino
D002648:Child; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D010290:Parents; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D011203:Poverty