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K. USUAL SOURCE OF HEALTH CARE
Most, but not all, Early Head Start children were reported by their parents to have a regular health care provider at each followup (Table 9). The proportion of Early Head Start children reported to have a regular health care provider declined slightly over time, from 98 percent about 7 months after enrollment to 94 percent about 28 months after enrollment. Early Head Start children were slightly more likely than children nationally to have a usual source of health care. In 1998, 90 percent of children in low-income families (with incomes below $20,000 per year) were reported to have a usual place for health care (DHHS 2002).
| 7 Months After Enrollment |
16 Months After Enrollment |
28 Months After Enrollment |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of Children With a Regular Health Care Provider | 97.5 | 95.4 | 94.2 |
| Percentage of Children
Whose Usual Places for Health Care Include:a |
|||
|
30.2 | 32.9 | 39.3 |
|
40.6 | 41.2 | 36.1 |
|
12.0 | 14.0 | 15.2 |
|
16.2 | 14.0 | 11.8 |
|
4.2 | 4.9 | 4.7 |
|
1.9 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
|
3.1 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Percentage of Primary Caregivers With a Regular Health Care Provider | 81.6 | 81.5 | 80.4 |
| Percentageof Primary
Caregivers Whose Usual Places for Health Care Include:a |
|||
|
25.7 | 26.9 | 33.0 |
|
41.6 | 41.8 | 36.9 |
|
13.7 | 13.5 | 16.6 |
|
15.7 | 15.0 | 12.1 |
|
4.7 | 6.5 | 4.6 |
|
4.1 | 3.8 | 3.5 |
|
3.8 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Sample Sizeb | 939-974 | 915-952 | 1,029-1,076 |
| Source: Parent services follow-up interviews completed anaverage of 7,16, and 28 months after enrollment for families who completed the 28-month follow-up interview. | |||
| aPercentages sum to more than 100 percent because some children and primary caregivers reported having more than one usual place for health care. | |||
| bRange reflects minimum and maximum sample sizes for items in table. | |||
The predominant places that Early Head Start children were taken for regular health care were a private doctor’s office (39 percent about 28 months after enrollment) or a clinic (36 percent). Some children were taken to a community health center (15 percent) or hospital/walk-in outpatient clinic (12 percent) for regular health care. Only a few parents reported taking their children to an emergency room for regular health care (2 percent). In contrast, the usual places for health care for children under age 5 nationally in 1998 were much more likely to be doctors’ offices (77 percent) and less likely to be other health care providers, such as clinics (21 percent), hospital outpatient clinics (1.5 percent), or emergency rooms (0.7 percent) (DHHS 2002).
Children in mixed-approach programs were more likely to visit a private doctor’s office for regular health care (47 percent compared with 36 percent in both center- and home-based programs) and less likely to be taken to a clinic (25 compared with 42 percent in both). They were also more than twice as likely to be taken to a hospital emergency room for regular health care (3 percent compared with 1.4 and 1.0 percent), which possibly reflects their lower rates of health insurance coverage.
Approximately 28 months after enrollment, 80 percent of mothers in Early Head Start reported having a regular health care provider. The extent to which Early Head Start mothers had a regular source of health care is similar to what would be expected based on national statistics. In 1998, U.S. women were more likely than U.S. men to have a usual source of health care (90 compared with 81 percent), and poor adults were less likely than other adults to have a usual source of health care (78 percent compared with 81 percent of near-poor adults and 89 percent of non-poor adults) (DHHS 2002).
Primary caregivers tended to go to the same types of places for regular health care as their children. As was the case for their children, mothers were most likely to go to a private doctor’s office or a clinic for regular health care (33 and 37 percent, respectively). Compared with their children, however, mothers were twice as likely to go to a hospital emergency room for regular health care (4 percent compared with 2 percent of children).
Primary caregivers in mixed-approach programs were least likely to report a usual source of health care (approximately 28 months after enrollment, for example, 78 percent compared with 85 and 80 percent in center- and home-based programs, respectively). They were more than twice as likely to go the emergency room for regular health care (6 percent compared with 2 to 3 percent) and more likely to go to a hospital or walk-in clinic or a community health center. They were less likely to go to a clinic for regular health care.
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