UCLA School of Public Health | Press Release May 5, 2004

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National Public Health Survey Shows Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. Children With Special Health Care Needs Lack Personal Physician

Date: May 5, 2004

Contact: Sarah Anderson (email)
Phone: (310) 267-0440

Contact: Dan Page (email)
Phone: (310) 794-2265

Relationship key to quality, cost-effective medical care - now and in the future

A national survey analyzed by UCLA School of Public Health researchers shows that nearly one in five U.S. children (18.9 percent) with chronic medical conditions lack a personal physician. In addition, a personal relationship with a single doctor appears to improve communication between doctors and parents.

Detailed by UCLA researchers at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting held in San Francisco, the National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs is the first to examine the continuity of care and health-care access for this population. The national phone survey conducted in 2001 gathered data on 38,866 children. The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau funded the survey.

"We expected that more children in this group would have a continuous relationship with a health care provider," said principal investigator Moira Inkelas, assistant professor of health services and assistant director of the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities. "Access to a medical 'home' is considered key to appropriate, ongoing, cost effective heath care for these children. It's the foundation upon which quality care is built."

About 13 percent of U.S. children have chronic health conditions such as asthma or diabetes that result in greater need for health and related services. Without proper medical care, these children can develop lifelong disabilities and may not use health care effectively as adults. For example, poorly treated asthma in childhood typically leads to more serious respiratory ailments later in life.

Among other findings:

Even when multiple providers are needed for the child’s care, parents of children with a regular doctor or other health-care provider are more likely to get the information they need, have enough time with providers and be treated as partners in care.

Uninsured (25 percent) and publicly insured (13 percent) children are more likely than privately insured (7 percent) children to lack a personal physician or other health care provider, despite having a usual source of care.

The likelihood of having a personal physician is lower for children who are uninsured, publicly insured, Latino with Spanish-speaking parent and/or have a mother with lower educational attainment.

Other survey investigators included Kandyce Larson, research associate at the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, and Paul Newacheck, professor of health policy and pediatrics at the Institute for Health Policy Studies and the department of pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco.

Housed in the School of Public Health and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities is an interdisciplinary research center on health policy for children and families.

The School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public’s health by conducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professionals, translating research into policy and practice, and serving local, national and international communities. Detailed information about the school is available online at www.ph.ucla.edu.

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