Closing the Gap: Foster Parents’ Lived Experiences and Recommendations for Interdisciplinary Health-Care Providers

<b>Purpose:</b> This study explored barriers and facilitators to utilizing health-care services for foster youth, from the perspective of foster parents. <b>Background:</b> There are nearly 437,283 youths in the United States foster care system. Youths living in locations that are different from their familial home situations have a significantly higher occurrence of physical and mental health illnesses than children who remain in their familial homes, increasing risk for homelessness, substance use and abuse, chronic long-term illnesses, and incarceration, thus placing additional burden on the health-care system. <b>Design and Methods:</b> This study utilized a qualitative descriptive design with purposive sampling, with video focus groups to explore 15 foster parents' experiences in accessing health-care services for foster youth. <b>Results:</b> Barriers and facilitators to accessing health care and care coordination were identified, including logistics, transportation, electronic health record access, location of health care, and the impact of the social worker. <b>Practice Implications:</b> Nurses are well-positioned to aid in closing gaps in care for foster youth. <b>Conclusions:</b> These experiences provide important insights and implications for health-care providers and for future research and policy development.