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Abstract

This study aims to understand the health outcomes of parents with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the interactive effect of child health insurance status. The study utilized 2014-2018 pooled National Health Interview Survey data to construct weighted national estimates and construct main and interaction effect logistic regression models. Findings show parents of children with ASD experienced significantly poorer health compared to parents of children without autism. Insurance status was found to significantly interact with child ASD status. Compared to parents of children without ASD that used private insurance, parents with a child with ASD who used private insurance, public insurance, or were uninsured were found to have 1.5-, 3.2-, and 2.1-times higher odds of poorer health, respectively. Future research and implications on policy and practice are discussed.

Plain Language Summary

This study is about parents of kids with autism (ASD). It looks at parent health and how child health insurance affects parents. Parents of kids with ASD report poorer health than parents of kids without ASD. Kids’ health insurance affects parents of kids with ASD. Parents of kids with ASD who used private insurance, public insurance, or were uninsured had poorer health. Future research and impacts on policy and practice are discussed.

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