Travel Time and Family Preferences for In-Person Care

A survey of nearly 650 caregivers of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) in California shed light on the challenges families face in accessing pediatric subspecialists. This fact sheet presents the results of that survey related to the time it takes families to travel to and from new subspecialist appointments and whether that impacts their preferences for in-person or telehealth visits. More than 25% of families reported having to travel more than an hour each way to appointments, and that does not include time for parking, waiting to be seen once in the medical office, the actual visit, or time spent getting prescriptions or tests afterwards. 

Despite the long travel times, caregivers overwhelmingly (86%) preferred that initial visits with pediatric subspecialists be in person. This was not due to challenges with telehealth or internet access. 

Download the fact sheet to learn more about: 

• Differences by geographic location (large cities, small cities, or rural areas) 
• Related difficulties in traveling to appointments 
• Reasons for preferring in-person appointments for initial visits