Social Determinants of Health in Early Otologic and Audiologic Evaluation in an Interdisciplinary Cleft-Craniofacial Clinic.

Objective: Investigate associations between socioeconomic indicators of healthcare access with family compliance with cleft-related otologic and audiologic care within an interdisciplinary model.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Subjects and setting: Children born 2005-2015 who presented to the Cleft-Craniofacial Clinic (CCC) at a quaternary care children's hospital.

Interventions: Associations between main outcome measures and Area Deprivation Index (ADI), median household income for zip code, distance from hospital, and insurance status were evaluated.

Main outcome measures: Cleft types, ages at presentation to outpatient clinic (cleft, otolaryngology, and audiology), and ages at procedures (first tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI), lip repair, and palatoplasty) were measured.

Results: Most patients were male (147/230, 64%) with cleft lip and palate (157/230, 68%). Median age at first cleft, otolaryngology, and audiology visits were 7 days, 86 days, and 5.9 months, respectively. Private insurance predicted lower no-show rates (p = .04). Age at first CCC visit was younger for patients with private insurance (p = .04) and older for those who lived further from the hospital (p = .002). Age at lip repair was positively correlated with national ADI (p = .03). However, no socioeconomic status (SES) proxy or proximity to hospital was associated with delays in first otolaryngology or audiology examination or TTI.

Conclusion: Once children become established within an interdisciplinary CCC, SES appears to bear little influence on cleft-related otologic and audiologic care. Future efforts should aim to elucidate which aspects of the interdisciplinary model maximize multisystem cleft care coordination and increase access for higher risk populations.