Healthcare utilisation and unmet health needs in children with intellectual disability: a propensity score matching approach using longitudinal cohort data.

Farley et al. (2022) tracked Irish children with intellectual disability and matched peers without ID. They used propensity score matching to make fair comparisons. The team checked medical records and parent reports from birth through age 13.

They counted GP visits, emergency trips, hospital doctor visits, and overnight stays. They also asked parents if any health needs went unmet.

By age 9, kids with ID had the same number of GP and emergency visits as peers. Yet they saw hospital doctors more often and stayed overnight more often. Unmet health needs stayed higher at ages 9 and 13.

In short, children with ID get more hospital care but still miss needed services.

The result extends Byiers et al. (2025), who found longer, riskier hospital stays in adults with Prader-Willi syndrome. Both studies show hospital use jumps when ID is present, not just for one genetic group but across the board.

Payakachat et al. (2019) asked Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families the same unmet-needs question. Their survey also found kids with developmental disabilities had more unmet needs than other US children. Farley et al. (2022) now replicates that pattern with Irish cohort data and tighter matching.

Sutton et al. (2022) frame these findings in a special issue on healthcare inequities. Their narrative review says routine data checks and clinician training are key. The Irish numbers supply fresh evidence for that call to action.

You now have proof that hospital use rises early for kids with ID, yet gaps in basic care remain. Add a quick health-access screen to your intake: ask about missed dental, vision, or therapy appointments. Flag families who report unmet needs and link them to a care coordinator or nurse practitioner. One referral can cut later hospital days and save your client from pain you might not see during sessions.