Development and validation of a method to identify children with social complexity risk factors

OBJECTIVES: We sought to develop and validate a method to identify social complexity risk factors (eg, limited English proficiency) using Minnesota state administrative data. A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between social complexity and caregiver-reported need for care coordination. METHODS: A total of 460 caregivers of children with noncomplex chronic conditions enrolled in a Minnesota public health care program were surveyed and administrative data on these caregivers and children were obtained. We validated the administrative measures by examining their concordance with caregiver-reported indicators of social complexity risk factors using tetrachoric correlations. Logistic regression analyses subsequently assessed the association between social complexity risk factors identified using Minnesota's state administrative data and caregiver-reported need for care coordination, adjusting for child demographics. RESULTS: Concordance between administrative and caregiver-reported data was moderate to high (correlation range 0.31-0.94, all P values CONCLUSIONS: Social complexity risk factors may be accurately obtained from state administrative data. The presence of these risk factors may heighten a family's need for care coordination and/or other services for children with chronic illness, even those not considered medically complex.Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Language: en