Tracking health and care use to improve health for autistic young people
Leveraging Trajectories of Health and Services Use to Improve the Health of Autistic Young Persons
This project looks at patterns of health conditions and health care use over time for autistic young people (ages 10–24) using national Medicaid records to help guide better supports.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Drexel University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11180126 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you or a young person you care for is autistic, this work uses Medicaid records from 2008–2023 to follow health and service use over five-year periods. The team will group similar patterns of physical, brain, and behavioral conditions and the types of services used across ages 10–24. They will compare these patterns to non-autistic peers and estimate how combined histories of health and services relate to health over the following ten years. Results aim to identify which subgroups are at higher risk and when supports might be most helpful.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Young people with autism aged about 10–24, especially those enrolled in Medicaid or who have long-term billing/claims records, match the population studied.
Not a fit: People outside the 10–24 age range, those not represented in Medicaid data, or those without continuous enrollment are less likely to be covered by these results.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help pinpoint when and what kinds of supports or services might reduce health problems and accidental injuries for autistic youth.
How similar studies have performed: Previous cross-sectional studies show higher rates of co-occurring conditions and service use in autistic youth, but long-term multi-trajectory analyses like this are less common and more novel.
Where this research is happening
Philadelphia, United States
- Drexel University — Philadelphia, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schendel, Diana — Drexel University
- Study coordinator: Schendel, Diana
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.