105 - Examining the digital divide among Chicago families during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Poster Number: 105
Publication Number: 105.212

Kristin Kan, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Lu Morales, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Anne Bendelow, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Tracie L. Smith, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Matthew M. Davis, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States; Marie E. Heffernan, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Background: A major effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the increased use of digital technologies for many routine activities, including medical visits and remote learning. The “digital divide,” or the gap in access to technologies by different socioeconomic groups, remains a concern in the U.S. Early data during the pandemic about students have suggested that large socioeconomic and racial disparities exist in the quality of data connections to facilitate e-learning. Thus, more recent data to define the quality, access, and use of digital technology among diverse families with children are essential to assess the availability of digitally enabled services to support children’s well-being.

Objective: Characterize the type and quality of digital technologies among families with children in Chicago, and associations with child health.

Design/Methods: Data were collected through the Voices of Child Health in Chicago Parent Panel Survey, a longitudinal survey administered tri-annually in English and Spanish via web and phone to parents from all 77 neighborhoods in Chicago, in the May-July 2021 wave. Data from this survey are weighted to be representative of the parent population in Chicago. Parents with at least one child < 18 years old in the household were eligible. Questions included types of devices at home, perceived internet speed, costs for internet, and concern paying for internet (Table 1). Demographic characteristics and child health status were also collected. Chi-square tests examined differences in digital access by child health status and demographics.

Results: Data from 1,620 Chicago parents were collected (38.1% Latinx, 31.0% White, 21.4% Black, 9.5% Other/Multi-race). Over 90% of parents reported having a desktop/laptop at home and 76.7% reported having reliable, high-speed internet (Table 2). More parents who reported children with better health reported having reliable, high-speed internet (82.1%) than parents who reported having children with worse health (67.2%, p < 0.001). Proportions of parents with reliable high-speed internet and who were worried about paying for internet were also statistically significantly different by demographic characteristics (Table 3).Conclusion(s): In this population-weighted, diverse survey, significant disparities in digital access were evident by child health, race/ethnicity, and income among Chicago families. These findings will be important for how to design digital services that become more routine in the care and education of children in the U.S.
Table 1. Digital Access Survey Questions and Categorical Reponses
Table 2. Characteristics of Survey Respondents (n=1620)