2011 The Palm Beach County Family Study (Full Report)

Children’s HealthcareMost (80%) of the mothers reported taking their children to the doctor for at least one well-child check-upin the 6 months prior to the fifth-year interview (see Table 14). On average, mothers said their childrenhad been to the doctor approximately once in the past 6 months for routine care. Overall, by the time ofthe year 5 interview, mothers reported taking their focal child to the doctor an average of 19 times forroutine care since birth; the number of times ranging from a low of 9 times to a high of 81 times. 22A majority (87%) of mothers reported taking their children to a doctor’s office for routine medical care,whereas 9 percent took their children to a public health clinic and 3 percent to another clinic or healthcenter. Relative to the first year, these results represent an increase in the use of a medical doctor and adecrease in the use of a public health clinic or another health center for children’s care. As with their owncare, the frequency with which foreign-born and U.S.-born mothers used a doctor’s office versus a publichealth clinic for their children’s healthcare varied. Although a majority of both groups were more likely touse a doctor’s office rather than a public health clinic, the percentage of U.S.-born mothers who did so(94%) was significantly higher than the percentage of foreign-born mothers who did so (81%).Correspondingly, 14 percent of foreign-born mothers used public health clinics for their children’s care,whereas only 4 percent of U.S.-born mothers did so (χ 2 = 14.354, p < .01).Analysis of qualitative data suggests that a primary reason for the decline in the use of public healthclinics over time is the high cost of services for uninsured children and adults. These data suggest thatmothers may start prenatal care at a public health clinic when they become pregnant and then continue touse the clinic for a while after the birth of their focal child, especially if they are also using the WICProgram, which is usually located in the same facility. However, because of the expense, mothers use theclinic only sporadically for care for themselves, for children not eligible for public insurance, and forMedicaid-eligible children during lapses in Medicaid coverage. Among these mothers, the clinic is usedmost often for family planning services, school physicals, and illnesses that cannot be treated at home.Almost all of the mothers (97%) reported that their focal child had received all required immunizations.Ten mothers (3%) said their children had not received all of their shots. When asked why, eight motherssaid they did not have insurance to pay for the shots; one said she “had missed the appointment” andreported that “the child was sick and could not receive the scheduled shot.”22 Mothers were asked every 6 months, both at the in-person annual interview and in the brief telephone interview, how manytimes they had taken their focal child to the doctor for “well-child” visits during the previous 6 months, or, in the case of thebaseline interview, since birth.Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago 29