OBJECTIVES:

Children represent a vulnerable population for whom adequate access to prescription drugs is vital to promote health and to prevent onset of disease that may reduce health status and quality of life throughout the child’s life. Identifying factors leading to the unmet need for prescription drugs should help in reducing barriers to prescription drugs.

METHODS: RESULTS:

Children from families unable to pay medical bills are 1.97 times (OR 1.97:CI 1.32-2.93) more likely to have unmet needs for prescription drugs. Hispanic children were 1.51 times (OR 1.51:CI 1.05-2.19) more likely to have unmet needs. Children who currently received specialist care in the past 12 months had 1.71 times (OR 1.71:CI 1.11-2.63) higher likelihood of unmet needs. Children having access barriers to visit a physician for the past 12 months, barriers due to physician office closures, medical care delays had 1.86 times (OR 1.86:CI 1.07-3.25), 1.96 times (OR 1.96:CI 1.02-3.77), 3.47 times (OR 3.47:CI 2.21-5.44) higher unmet need for prescription drugs respectively. Children having worse health status have 1.51 times (OR 1.51:CI 1.03-2.22) increased likelihood and children who were not covered by any type of health insurance were 2.46 times (OR 2.465:CI 1.56-3.87) higher unmet need for prescription drugs.

CONCLUSIONS:

Financial, access and ethnicity barriers are the leading causes for higher unmet need for prescription drugs in US. Policy changes addressing these barriers should reduce unmet needs among children.