A pediatric rehabilitation therapy audit study: A brief report.

The study was limited to Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia, so it may not apply to other regions. It used simulated callers and scripted names, not real families, so it measures how clinics responded to telegraphed identity and insurance profiles. Names may not have signaled identity as intended, and recipients may have ascribed other social status. Some clinics required intake forms or proof of prescription before offering an appointment, which could affect access beyond the phone call. Some clinics were called more than once by different simulated families because substitutions were required. Wait-time analyses used only the 91 appointments obtained, so they do not describe families who never got an appointment. The study focused on outpatient therapy for a simulated three-year-old with cerebral palsy, so it may not reflect other ages, settings or disabilities.

Do not conclude that telegraphed Hispanic and Black identity caused fewer appointments through discrimination. The audit used names to signal identity, names may not have been interpreted as intended, and the study was limited to clinics in three states.