School readiness among children insured by Medicaid, South Carolina.
BACKGROUND
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a schedule of age-specific well-child visits through age 21 years. For children insured by Medicaid, these visits are called Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT). These visits are designed to promote physical, emotional, and cognitive health. Six visits are recommended for the first year of life, 3 for the second year. We hypothesized that children with the recommended visits in the first 2 years of life would be more likely than others to be ready for school when they finish kindergarten.


METHODS
We studied children insured by Medicaid in South Carolina, born during 2000 through 2002 (n = 21,998). Measures included the number of EPSDT visits in the first 2 years of life and an assessment of school readiness conducted at the end of kindergarten. We used logistic regression to examine the adjusted association between having the recommended visits and school readiness, controlling for characteristics of mothers, infants, prenatal care and delivery, and residence area.


RESULTS
Children with the recommended visits had 23% higher adjusted odds of being ready for school than those with fewer visits.


CONCLUSIONS
EPSDT may contribute to school readiness for children insured by Medicaid. Children having fewer than the recommended EPSDT visits may benefit from school readiness programs.
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Epidemiology and Health Systems Research, Medical University of South Carolina, 165 Ashley Ave, Charleston, SC 29425, USA. pittardw@musc.edu
William B
WB
Pittard
Thomas C
TC
Hulsey
James N
JN
Laditka
Sarah B
SB
Laditka
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000592:standards*; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008484:Medicaid; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D012572:School Health Services / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013022:South Carolina; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult