ArticleBMJ open2021
Impact of parents' education on variation in hospital admissions for children: a population-based cohort study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Too far to care? A cohort study on travel distance and hospital use in children living with respiratory support.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Article
- The role of mothers and fathers in children's health care use.International journal of health economics and management · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic and geographic differences in ablation of atrial fibrillation in Norway - a national cohort study.BMC public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess the impact of parental educational level on hospital admissions for children, and to evaluate whether differences in parents' educational level can explain geographic variation in admission rates.
designNational cohort study.
settingThe 18 hospital referral areas for children in Norway.
participantsAll Norwegian children aged 1-16 years in the period 2008-2016 and their parents.
main outcome measuresAge- and gender-adjusted admission rates and probability of admission.
resultsOf 1 538 189 children, 156 087 (10.2%) had at least one admission in the study period. There was a nearly twofold (1.9) variation in admission rates between the hospital referral areas (3113 per 100 000 children, 95% CI: 3056 to 3169 vs 1627, 95% CI: 1599 to 1654). Area level variances in multilevel analysis did not change after adjusting for parental level of education. Children of parents with low level of education (maternal level of education, low vs high) had the highest admission rates (2016: 2587, 95% CI: 2512 to 2662 vs 1810, 95% CI: 1770 to 1849), the highest probability of being admitted (OR: 1.18, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.20), the highest number of admissions (incidence rate ratio: 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.10) and admissions with lower cost (-0.5%, 95% CI: -1.2% to 0.3%).
conclusionsSubstantial geographic variation in hospital admission rates for children was found, but was not explained by parental educational level. Children of parents with low educational level had the highest admission probability, and the highest number of admissions, but the lowest cost of admissions. Our results suggest that the variation between the educational groups is not due to differences in medical needs, and may be characterised as unwarranted. However, the manner in which health professionals communicate and interact with parents with different educational levels might play an important role.
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