Maternal and Child Health Library

This and past issues of the MCH Alert are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html.

August 7, 2009

1. MCHB RELEASES NEW EDITION OF CHILD HEALTH USA

Child Health USA 2007 reports on the health status and service needs for the target population of Title V funding: infants, children, adolescents, children with special health care needs, and women of childbearing age. The book, published by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, comprises secondary data for more than 50 health status and health care indicators, provides both graphical and textual summaries of relevant data, and addresses long-term trends where applicable and feasible. The first section, Population Characteristics, presents statistics on factors (including poverty, education, and child care) that influence children's well-being. The second section, Health Status, contains vital statistics and health behavior information for the maternal and child health population. Health Services Financing and Utilization, the third section, includes data on health care financing and use of selected health services. The final sections, State Data and City Data, contain information on selected indicators at state and city levels. The book is available at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa07.

• Obesity prevalence increased by 0.43 percentage points annually during 1998-2003 but by only 0.02 percentage points annually during 2003-2008.
• Obesity increased across all racial and ethnic groups during 1998-2003, with the exception of Asian and Pacific Islander children. However, during 2003-2008, obesity remained stable among all groups except American Indian and Alaska Native children.
• In 2008, prevalence was highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (21.2 percent) and Hispanic (18.5 percent) children and lowest among non-Hispanic white (12.6 percent), Asian and Pacific Islander (12.3 percent), and non-Hispanic black (11.8 percent) children.

• Only five of the 14 RCTs met 70 percent or more of the CONSORT checklist items.
• Among the six studies (17.1 percent) with direct contact with the parents (parent training, family counseling, or preventive messages during family visits), three (50 percent) reported mixed effects on children's physical activity.
• Of the six studies (17.1 percent) that directly engaged the parent(s) in part or in whole through a family participatory exercise program, one (16.7 percent) pilot study had a positive effect on children's physical activity.
• In three studies (8.6 percent), researchers communicated with parents via telephone. Two studies (66.7 percent) had a mixed effect on children's physical activity.
• Among the nine studies (25.7 percent) that attempted contact with parents via organized activities (e.g., family workshops or fun nights), two (22.2 percent) had a positive effect on physical activity.
• Eleven studies (31.4 percent) used educational material sent home as the method to reach parents, in the form of newsletters or homework in print or on the Internet. One study (9.1 percent) reported a positive effect on children's physical activity.

• Before the policy change, there were 3,631 Medicaid claims submitted for FVT. Following the change, claims for FVT increased to 28,303, with 38.0 percent submitted by medical providers.
• Overall, the rate of FVT claims by dentists increased by over 300 percent after the new policy was implemented.
• Overall, the rates of FVT claims were 0.14 and 0.66 for 100 person years of enrollment for the pre-policy and post-policy periods, respectively.
• The change in the rate of FVT claims was highest for children ages 1 and 2, followed by children from age 2 to age 3. The change in the rate of claims was lowest for children age 5 to age 6.

• Overall, 15.6 percent of parents had a child (from birth to age 17) with a limitation.
• Parents of children with resolved, newly reported, or ongoing limitations all had significantly increased odds of poor health and mental health, compared with parents of children without limitations.
• Parents of children with ongoing limitations had significantly increased odds of poor mental health, compared with parents of children with resolved activity limitations.
• Parents of children with ongoing activity limitations were most likely to report work days lost, compared with parents of children without limitations.
• Parents of children with ongoing limitations also reported significantly more work days lost, compared with parents of children with resolved limitations.
• Parents who cared for at least one child with limitations did not report significantly worse physical health status but had significantly increased odds of poor mental health.