Working Paper: NBER ID: w30968
Authors: Josh Feng; Matthew J. Higgins; Elena Patel
Abstract: We study how pediatric drug adherence responds to macroeconomic shocks, leveraging comprehensive U.S. claims data and the COVID-19 pandemic. For the youngest asthmatic children, adherence to prescriptions fell by 30 percent by the end of 2020, with smaller negative effects for older children. The effect is not driven by factors distinctive to COVID, including school closures and air quality. Rather, we find evidence consistent with parental attention playing a large quantitative role. Our findings speak to the role of non-monetary factors in determining an important pediatric health behavior and to the evolution of the pediatric health-parental income gradient.
Keywords: pediatric drug adherence; parental attention; COVID-19; macroeconomic shocks; asthma medication
JEL Codes: I12; I14; L65
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| COVID-19 pandemic (H12) | pediatric adherence to asthma medication (I10) |
| parental attention (J13) | pediatric adherence to asthma medication (I10) |
| COVID-19 pandemic (H12) | parental attention (J13) |
| school closures (J65) | pediatric adherence to asthma medication (I10) |
| air quality changes (Q53) | pediatric adherence to asthma medication (I10) |