Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36710646›Full record

ArticlePediatrics2023

SNAP Participation and Emergency Department Use.

Rajan Anthony Sonik, Alisha Coleman-Jensen, Timothy B Creedon, Xinyu Yang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatrics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Material hardship and sources of support for autistic adolescents and their families.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025
    Article
  2. The Economic Impacts of COVID-19 on Autistic Children and Their Families.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Rajan Anthony SonikAltaMed Institute for Health Equity, AltaMed Health Services, Los Angeles, California.
Alisha Coleman-JensenEconomic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, District of Columbia.
Timothy B CreedonHealth Equity Research Lab, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Xinyu YangHealth Equity Research Lab, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Funding

Effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on racial/ethnic and disability-based healthcare disparitiesR01MD013837 · NIMHD · BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY · PI SONIK, RAJAN ANTHONY · 2020 to 2023
$2.1M
Effects of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on healthcare costs and utilizationR03HS026317 · AHRQ · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · PI SONIK, RAJAN ANTHONY · 2018 to 2019
$87k
AHRQ HHS R03 HS026317NIMHD NIH HHS R01 MD013837
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo examine whether Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation is associated with emergency department use among low-income children and whether any such association is mediated by household food hardship and child health status and/or moderated by special health care needs (SHCN) status. We hypothesized SNAP to be associated with reduced likelihoods of emergency department use, with greater effect sizes for children with SHCN and mediation by food hardship and health status.

methodsIn this secondary analysis, we estimated a bivariate probit model (with state-level SNAP administrative policies as instruments) within a structural equation modeling framework using pooled cross-sectional samples of children in low-income households from the 2016 to 2019 iterations of the National Survey of Children's Health (n = 24 990).

resultsAmong children with and without SHCN, respectively, SNAP was associated with: 22.0 percentage points (pp) (95% confidence interval [CI] 12.2-31.8pp) and 17.1pp (95% CI 7.2-27.0pp) reductions in the likelihood of household food hardship exposure (4.8pp difference-in-differences, 95% CI 2.3-7.4pp), 9.7pp (95% CI 3.9-15.5pp) and 7.9pp (95% CI 2.2-13.6) increases in the likelihood of excellent health status (1.9pp difference-in-differences, 95% CI 0.7-3.0pp), and 7.7pp (95% CI 2.9-12.5pp) and 4.3pp (95% CI 1.0-7.6pp) reductions in the likelihood of emergency department use (3.4pp difference-in-differences, 95% CI 1.8-5.1pp).

conclusionsWe found SNAP participation was associated with lower likelihoods of emergency department use, that better food hardship and health statuses mediated this association, and that effect sizes were larger among children with SHCN. Food hardship relief may improve outcomes for vulnerable children and the health systems serving them.

Indexed as

Food AssistanceChildCross-Sectional StudiesFamily CharacteristicsFood SupplyHealth StatusHumansPoverty

Identifiers

PMID36710646
PMCPMC13160430

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.