ERIC Number: EJ1230621
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Nov
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1362-3613
EISSN: EISSN-1461-7005
Assessment of Racial and Ethnic Bias in Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence Estimates from a US Surveillance System
Pamela Imm; Tiffany White; Maureen S. Durkin
Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v23 n8 p1927-1935 Nov 2019
This study assessed potential under-ascertainment of autism spectrum disorder due to missing administrative information for Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black children within the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. We analyzed data from two Network sites (Colorado and Wisconsin) for surveillance years 2012 and 2014 to determine whether children excluded from autism spectrum disorder prevalence estimates due to missing residency and other information differed from those included by race and ethnicity. We used multiple approaches to impute missing information to evaluate impacts on racial and ethnic disparities in autism spectrum disorder prevalence. Compared with confirmed autism spectrum disorder cases, those excluded due to missing residency were more than twice as likely to be Hispanic (19% vs 44%; p < 0.002), yet the number of cases excluded due to missing residency information was too small to account for prevalence differences. Confirmation of autism spectrum disorder case status was more likely for children with relevant health records than for those with school records only. Moreover, relevant health records were more likely to be missing for Black and Hispanic children than for White children. Observed disparities in autism spectrum disorder prevalence were not accounted for by missing demographic data, but may reflect disparities in healthcare access for developmental evaluations.
Descriptors: Racial Bias, Ethnic Groups, Social Bias, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Incidence, African American Students, Developmental Disabilities, Race, Ethnicity, Hispanic American Students, White Students, Asian American Students, Comparative Analysis
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (DHHS); National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) (DHHS/CDC)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Wisconsin; Colorado (Denver)
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: P30HD03352; U54HD090256; UR3/DD000078; UR3/DD000677; UR3DD000686; U53DD001161