Sheila R. Bloom

A Review of the Evidence for the Medical Home for Children With Special Health Care Needs

from stool and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in intubated infants, and every infant who developed IC was identified and IC-related mortality was eliminated.5 All neonates with IC had a BW of 1000 g, and 15 (94%) of 16 had a gestational age of 27 weeks. Therefore, from our data, neonates with a gestational age of 27 weeks and BW of 1000 g represent the “preterm subpopulation” that would benefit most from FP. A more-precise identification of the higher-risk neonates in the NICU would be a prelude to the elaboration of more-effective prophylactic measures and should delay or prevent the emergence of resistance. Indeed, the critical question will be to find the corrected age when the immune system can face up to Candida spp to develop effective preventive strategies. Our data provide evidence that the age is somewhere around 27 weeks.

Health Inequity in Children and Youth With Chronic Health Conditions

BACKGROUND: Over the last decades, there have been great advances in health care delivered to children with chronic conditions, but not all children have benefitted equally from them. OBJECTIVES: To describe health inequities experienced by children with chronic health conditions. METHODS: We performed a literature review of English-language studies identified from the Medline, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Cancer Institute, and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Web sites that were published between January 1985 and May 2009, included children aged 0 to 18 years, and contained the key words “incidence,” “prevalence,” “survival,” “mortality,” or “disparity” in the title or abstract for the following health conditions: acute leukemia, asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, Down syndrome, HIV/AIDS, major congenital heart defects, major depressive disorder, sickle cell anemia, spina bifida, and traumatic brain injury. RESULTS: Black children had higher rates of cerebral palsy and HIV/AIDS, were less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, had more emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and had higher mortality rates associated with asthma; and survived less often with Down syndrome, type 1 diabetes, and traumatic brain injury when compared with white children. Hispanic children had higher rates of spina bifida from Mexico-born mothers, had higher rates of HIV/AIDS and depression, were less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, had poorer glycemic control with type 1 diabetes, and survived less often with acute leukemia compared with white children. CONCLUSIONS: Serious racial and ethnic health and health care inequities persist for children with chronic health conditions.

Interventions to improve screening and follow-up in primary care: a systematic review of the evidence.

BACKGROUND The American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations recommend several screening tests as part of preventive care. The proportion of children who are appropriately screened and who receive follow-up care is low. OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review of the evidence for practice-based interventions to increase the proportion of patients receiving recommended screening and follow-up services in pediatric primary care. DATA SOURCE Medline database of journal citations. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS, AND INTERVENTIONS We developed a strategy to search MEDLINE to identify relevant articles. We selected search terms to capture categories of conditions (eg, developmental disabilities, obesity), screening tests, specific interventions (eg, quality improvement initiatives, electronic records enhancements), and primary care. We searched references of selected articles and reviewed articles suggested by experts. We included all studies with a distinct, primary care-based intervention and post-intervention screening data, and studies that focused on children and young adults (≤21 years of age). We excluded studies of newborn screening. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS Abstracts were screened by 2 reviewers and articles with relevant abstracts received full text review and were evaluated for inclusion criteria. A structured tool was used to abstract data from selected articles. Because of heterogeneous interventions and outcomes, we did not attempt a meta-analysis. RESULTS From 2547 returned titles and abstracts, 23 articles were reviewed. Nine were pre-post comparisons, 5 were randomized trials, 3 were postintervention comparisons with a control group, 3 were postintervention cross-sectional analyses only, and 3 reported time series data. Of 14 articles with preintervention or control group data and significance testing, 12 reported increases in the proportion of patients appropriately screened. Interventions were heterogeneous and often multifaceted, and several types of interventions, such as provider/staff training, electronic medical record templates/prompts, and learning collaboratives, appeared effective in improving screening quality. Few articles described interventions to track screening results or referral completion for those with abnormal tests. Data were often limited by single-site, nonrandomized design. CONCLUSIONS Several feasible, practice- and provider-level interventions appear to increase the quality of screening in pediatric primary care. Evidence for interventions to improve follow-up of screening tests is scant. Future research should focus on which specific interventions are most effective, whether effects are sustained over time, and what interventions improve follow-up of abnormal screening tests.

The Future of Health Insurance for Children With Special Health Care Needs

CONTEXT. Because of their elevated need for services, health insurance is particularly important for children with special health care needs. In this article we assess how well the current system is meeting the insurance needs of children with special health care needs and how emerging trends in health insurance may affect their well-being. METHODS. We begin with a review of the evidence on the impact of health insurance on the health care experiences of children with special health care needs based on the peer-reviewed literature. We then assess how well the current system meets the needs of these children by using data from 2 editions of the National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs. Finally, we present an analysis of recent developments and emerging trends in the health insurance marketplace that may affect this population. RESULTS. Although a high proportion of children with special health care needs have insurance at any point in time, nearly 40% are either uninsured at least part of the year or have coverage that is inadequate. Recent expansions in public coverage, although offset in part by a contraction in employer-based coverage, have led to modest but significant reductions in the number of uninsured children with special health care needs. Emerging insurance products, including consumer-directed health plans, may expose children with special health care needs and their families to greater financial risks. CONCLUSIONS. Health insurance coverage has the potential to secure access to needed care and improve the quality of life for these children while protecting their families from financially burdensome health care expenses. Continued vigilance and advocacy for children and youth with special health care needs are needed to ensure that these children have access to adequate coverage and that they fare well under health care reform.

Care coordination for children with special health care needs: Evaluation of a state experiment

Care coordination (CC), a component of the medical home, may aid families who have children with special health care needs (CSHCN). Few data link CC to individual patient outcomes. To compare parent-reported outcomes for CSHCN receiving practice-based care coordination with those receiving standard care. This cross-sectional study examined two groups of CSHCN: one that received the services of a care coordinator for a year and one that did not. Parental surveys assessed: access to medical care, practice help and support, satisfaction with services, and parental mental and physical health. Associations between group status and parent-reported outcomes were assessed via regression analyses controlling for sociodemographic and health status variables. We also examined whether CC households who reported higher satisfaction with care had higher scores in the four domains. Parents in the care coordination group reported higher utilization of both primary care and specialist physicians, but did not report better practice help and support, better satisfaction with care, or better overall parental health. Parents in the care coordination group who reported being satisfied with their care rated their PCPs as more helpful than did the comparison families. Parents in this subgroup also reported significantly higher levels of care coordination than did parents in the comparison group. CSHCN appear to have higher PCP and specialist utilization when they receive supplemental care coordination. Additionally, those who are more satisfied with the care coordination they receive are happier with the assistance from their PCP and the overall care coordination provided.

State variations in supplemental security income enrollment for children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of poverty, program generosity, and health on state variations in enrollment of children and adolescents in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program during recent program expansions. METHODS The relationship of state SSI rates for 1989 and 1992 to child poverty, health, and program generosity were determined by multiple regression. RESULTS The mean percentage of children enrolled grew from 0.36% (1989) to 0.75% (1992). Poverty rates accounted for 78% of the variance among states in 1989 and 53% in 1992. Other indicators accounted for little variance. CONCLUSIONS Differences in state poverty levels explained almost all variation in SSI enrollment.