Abstract
Objective: To test whether household food insecurity (HFI) was associated with total annual hospitalization charges, annual days hospitalized, and charges per day, among low-income infants (months) with any non-neonatal hospital stays.
Methods: Administrative inpatient hospital charge data were matched to survey data from infants' caregivers interviewed 1998-2005 in emergency departments in Boston and Little Rock. All study infants had been hospitalized at least once since birth; infants whose diagnoses were not plausibly related to nutrition were excluded from both groups. Log-transformed hospitalization charges were analyzed, controlling for site fixed effects.
Results: 24% of infants from food-insecure households and 16% from food-secure households were hospitalized >2 times (P=0.02). Mean annual inpatient hospital charges ($6,707 vs $5,735; P
Conclusion: HFI was positively associated with annual inpatient charges among hospitalized low income infants. Average annual inpatient charges were almost $2,000 higher (inflation adjusted) for infants living in food-insecure households. Reducing or eliminating food insecurity could reduce health services utilization and expenditures for infants in low-income families, most of whom are covered by public health insurance.
Key Take Away Points
- Household food insecurity was positively associated with annual inpatient charges among hospitalized low-income infants.
- Average annual inpatient charges were almost $2,000 higher (inflation adjusted) for infants living in food-insecure households.
- Reducing or eliminating food insecurity could reduce health services utilization and expenditures for infants in low-income families, most of whom are covered by public health insurance.
Author Biography
Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, MPH – Executive Director, Children's HealthWatch, Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA Patrick Casey, MD - Principal Investigator, Children's HealthWatch, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR Diana Cutts, MD - Principal Investigator, Children's HealthWatch, Department of Pediatrics, Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN Timothy C. Heeren, PhD - Biostatistician, Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA Sharon Coleman, MS, MPH - Statistical Analyst, Biostatistics and Epidemiology Data Analytics Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA Allison Bovell-Ammon, MDiv – Deputy Director of Policy Strategy, Children's HealthWatch, Department of Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA Deborah A. Frank, MD – Principal Investigator, Children’s HealthWatch, Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA John Cook, PhD, MAEd - Principal Investigator, Children's HealthWatch, Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank James M. Robbins, Mick Tilford, Jennifer Cano, Danielle Appugliese, Marya Pulaski, and the Children’s HealthWatch research group for their invaluable assistance on this work. We would also like to thank all the families who participated in the study.
Recommended Citation
Ettinger de Cuba, Stephanie; Casey, Patrick H.; Cutts, Diana; Heeren, Timothy C.; Coleman, Sharon; Bovell-Ammon, Allison R.; Frank, Deborah A.; and Cook, John T.
(2018)
"Household food insecurity positively associated with increased hospital charges for infants,"
Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk: Vol. 9:
Iss.
1, Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58464/2155-5834.1355
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/childrenatrisk/vol9/iss1/8
