Respiratory symptoms and use of medical care associated with child day care and health care plan among preschool children.
This study compared the risk of respiratory infections in pre-school children (under 6-year-old) attending day care center and those taken care of at home by controlling for the type of health plan and sociodemographic characteristics. The study population consists of members of two health plans residing in two South Carolina counties. Results show that the risks of respiratory symptoms were higher among children attending day care settings than those taken care of at homes although this relationship is more apparent among Medicaid children than among HMO children. While the type of child care has weak influence on medical care utilization, the type of health plan exerts strong influence on utilization for both day care and home care groups.
Shi
L
L
Dept. of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health & Hygiene, Baltimore, MD 21205-1996, USA.
Lu
N
N
Zhao
M
M
Xu
J
J
Kelly
K
K
Huang
Y
Y
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013022:South Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States