Providing comprehensive health care to children with chronic illness.
OBJECTIVE
To test whether a program of outreach and comprehensive health care for children with chronic disorders provides more complete care and reduces unmet health needs compared with traditional care.


METHODS
A pretest-posttest randomized control trial.


METHODS
An inner-city municipal teaching hospital.


METHODS
Two hundred nineteen systematically enrolled mothers of children with diverse chronic physical health conditions.


METHODS
A comprehensive outreach program, Pediatric Home Care (PHC), contrasted with Standard Care.


RESULTS
Nine elements of comprehensive care established in the literature as components of a basic package of care for those with chronic conditions. The PHC intervention addressed gaps in services and improved both the acquisition and maintenance of elements of comprehensive care.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest mechanisms through which comprehensive care programs may contribute to the improvement in psychological and social outcomes previously reported for those in the PHC intervention.
Jessop
D J
DJ
Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, NY 10461.
Stein
R E
RE
D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D003191:Comprehensive Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D006773:Hospitals, Municipal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009519:New York City; D010348:Patient Care Team