Socioeconomic and demographic patterning of family uptake of a paediatric electronic patient portal innovation

Abstract

Introduction Patient portals allowing access to electronic health care records and services can inform and empower, but may widen existing sociodemographic inequities. We aimed to describe associations between activation of a paediatric patient portal and patient race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and markers of previous engagement with health care. Methods A retrospective single site cross-sectional study was undertaken to examine patient portal adoption amongst families of children receiving care for chronic or complex disorders within the United Kingdom. Descriptive and multivariable regression analysis was undertaken to describe associations between predictors (Race/Ethnicity, age, socio-economic deprivation status based on family residence, and previous non-attendance to outpatient consultations) and outcome. Results A sample of 3687 children, representative of the diverse ‘real world’ patient population, was identified. Of these 37% (1364) were from a White British background, 71% (2631) had English as the primary family spoken language (PSL), 14% (532) lived in areas of high deprivation, and 17% (643) had high (>33%) rates of non-attendance. The families of 73% (2682) had activated the portal. In adjusted analyses, English as a PSL (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval 1.66-2.36) was positively associated with portal activation, whilst families from British Black African backgrounds (aOR 0.58, 0.44-0.77), those living in areas of deprivation (aOR 0.81, 0.67-0.98) or with high rates of non-attendance (aOR 0.32, 0.27-0.39) were less likely to use the portal. Conclusions Socio-economic deprivation, race/ethnicity and previous low engagement with health care services are potentially key drivers of widening inequity in access to health care following the implementation of patient portals, a digital health innovation intended to inform and empower patients. Health care providers should be aware that innovative human-driven engagement approaches, targeted towards under-served communities, are needed to ensure equitable access to high quality patient-centred care.