Prevalence of Diaper Insecurity 41 Percent in Urban Health Centers
TUESDAY, Sept. 9, 2025 -- In a cross-sectional study conducted in nine urban Federally Qualified Health Centers and published online Sept. 9 in Pediatrics, the prevalence of diaper insecurity was 41 percent among pediatric patients aged 0 to 36 months.
Deanna Reinoso, M.D., from the Regenstrief Center for Health Equity Research at Eskenazi Health in Indianapolis, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in nine urban Federally Qualified Health Centers involving pediatric patients aged 0 to 36 months to examine the prevalence, demographic characteristics, social drivers of health, and associated health outcomes of diaper insecurity. Data were extracted from 16,677 unique patients; 7,700 (46 percent) were screened for diaper insecurity.
The researchers found that the prevalence of diaper insecurity was 41 percent, with the highest prevalence reported by non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients (45.0 and 39.9 percent, respectively) and those preferring to communicate in Haitian Creole (66 percent). Diaper insecurity frequently co-occurred with other social drivers of health, including food insecurity, transportation insecurity, unhoused/homeless, rent/mortgage payment insecurity, and financial insecurity reported by 78, 65, 72, 71, and 88 percent, respectively; about half of households (48 percent) reported receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Associations with diaper insecurity were seen for maternal depression, low birth weight, fewer toilet training difficulties, and increased emergency department visits.
"Integration of diaper insecurity screening into health care system infrastructure provides unique opportunities for clinical teams to connect diaper insecure infants to resources and address intersecting social needs within an integrated system of social determinants of health screening," the authors write.
One author disclosed ties to Pfizer.
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