PORTLAND, Ore., Nov 30, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Children without regular
pediatric care have less access to needed services, U.S. researchers found.
The study, scheduled to be published in Pediatrics, found children lacking a
usual source of care were more likely to have unmet medical needs including
delayed urgent care and problems obtaining dental care or specialty care.
"In the current policy debates about health insurance reform, much of the focus
has been on the importance of stable health insurance," principal investigator
Dr. Jennifer DeVoe of Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine in
Portland said in a statement. "This study confirmed that having a stable usual
source of care is also an important factor in accessing needed healthcare."
Previous studies, DeVoe said, found children with continuing care use more
preventive healthcare, less emergency services and if hospitalized, have shorter
hospital stays.
DeVoe and colleagues received completed surveys -- with questions vetted in
national surveys -- for 2,681 "focal children" and applied statistical weights
to ensure that these responses were representative of the 84,087 households in
the food stamp population.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International