Introduction: Households may be primary settings for developing noncommunicable and infectious diseases due to shared lifestyle factors and ease of transmission, rendering multiple family members within a household in simultaneous need of health services. Limited resources may force families to prioritize healthcare for individuals with serious health needs over other family members; however, few studies have examined unmet healthcare needs within family contexts. This study examines the odds of U.S. adults' own unmet healthcare needs due to cost when living with a family member who has serious health needs.
Methods: In this cross-sectional analysis of 2018 National Health Interview Survey data, we use multivariate logistic regression models to estimate the odds of U.S. adults' own delay and nonreceipt of care when living with a spouse or partner, child under age 18, or parent/parent-in-law with a limiting chronic condition or high volume of past-year healthcare use.
Results: Of 56,165 adults surveyed, 51.7% were female, and 63.1% were non-Hispanic White. Adults who had a household family member with extensive health needs had 1.5-2.0 times the odds of experiencing delay or nonreceipt of their own needed care. Being female, uninsured, and having a household income ≤ 400% of the Federal Poverty Level was associated with higher risk of having unmet healthcare needs.
Discussion: Families with limited resources may be forced to prioritize some members' needed healthcare over others'. Policy and programmatic support for individuals with ongoing and acute health needs may help ensure adequate resources for all family members to seek needed care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).