Asthma-Like Symptoms in Homeless Children in the Greater Paris Area in 2013: Prevalence, Associated Factors and Utilization of Healthcare Services in the ENFAMS Survey
Introduction Asthma remains poorly studied in homeless children. We sought to estimate the prevalence of asthma-like symptoms (ALS) and to identify the factors associated with ALS and healthcare service utilisation. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional survey of a random sample of sheltered homeless families was conducted by interviewing 801 parents of children (0–12 years) in 17 languages. ALS were defined as wheezing or night cough without fever during the previous year. Poisson regression models with robust error variance were used to compute prevalence ratios (PR) for factors associated with ALS and healthcare service utilisation for ALS. Results The prevalence of ALS among the children was 19.9%. Poor housing sanitation was significantly associated with ALS, as being born in the European Union. Most of the children with ALS had used healthcare services (85.4%). The main barriers to accessing such services were having lived in France for less than 49 months, having difficulties in French and living in poor housing conditions. Conclusion ALS prevalence seemed lower than in the general child population, possibly because of the children's origins. Environmental factors associated with ALS point to the need to improve the indoor environment of family shelters. The relatively high rate of healthcare service utilisation should not overshadow existing barriers.
INSERM, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP UMRS 1136), Department of social epidemiology, Paris, France;French Institute for Public Health Surveillance, Saint-Maurice, France;University Hospital of Rouen, Rouen, France;INSERM, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP UMRS 1136), Department of social epidemiology, Paris, France;INSERM, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Institut Pierre Louis d’Épidémiologie et de Santé Publique (IPLESP UMRS 1136), Department of social epidemiology, Paris, France;French Institute for Public Health Surveillance, Saint-Maurice, France;Observatoire du Samusocial de Paris, Paris, France
Recommended Citation:
Delphine Lefeuvre,Marie-Christine Delmas,Christophe Marguet,et al. Asthma-Like Symptoms in Homeless Children in the Greater Paris Area in 2013: Prevalence, Associated Factors and Utilization of Healthcare Services in the ENFAMS Survey[J]. PLOS ONE,2016-01-01,11(4)