Association between Caregiver-perceived Health Care Provider Cultural Sensitivity and Child Health Status in the National Survey of Children’s Health: 2016-2020

Objectives. To examine the association between caregiver-perceived cultural sensitivity of health care providers and child health status in the United States. Methods. We analyzed National Survey of Children’s Health data (n = 145,226) from 2016-2020. Using logistic regression, we determined odds of reporting a better health status by level of caregiver-perceived provider cultural sensitivity while controlling for potential confounders. Results. Children with providers perceived as more culturally sensitive by their caregivers had 2.38 times the odds (95% confidence interval: 1.73, 3.28) of enjoying a better caregiver-assessed health status compared with children whose providers were perceived as less culturally sensitive. Caregivers of BIPOC children in our sample were 1.99 times more likely (95% CI: 1.89, 2.10) to report their provider as only sometimes or never culturally sensitive. Conclusions. Cultural sensitivity of health care providers, as perceived by caregivers, was associated with caregiver-assessed child health status in our study. This association remained significant when controlling for various sociodemographic variables. Our findings highlight the need for more research around the potential positive impact that improving provider cultural sensitivity could have on the health of children who are Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color (BIPOC).