MINORITY HEALTH: Disparities Persist in Children’s Care
Regardless of health insurance status, minority children are less likely than their white counterparts to see a health care provider on a regular basis, according to a study released today by researchers at Children's Hospital in Strong, NY. Hispanic children are four times less likely and African-American children are five times less likely than white children to routinely visit a medical provider, the study found. The nationwide survey of 6,300 children under age 18 was meant to shed light on the Children's Health Insurance Program's impact on children's access to health care. "We found that even though health insurance helps improve access to care, racial disparities persist ... regardless of whether their insurance is private or public," said Laura Pollard Shone, study author and senior health coordinator at the University of Rochester Medical Center. In addition, the study found that minority children are more likely to "go a year or more without visiting a doctor's office or clinic, to lack a health provider who offered evening or weekend hours and to have trouble scheduling health care appointments" (Jackel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 5/5).
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