Future plans and social/recreational activities of youth with special health care needs: the implications of parental help in completing surveys.

Background: A major focus of the literature on youth with special health care needs (YSHCN) is the transition to adult health care. As perceptions of disability are a product of interactions between youth and their environment, it is important to understand youth's needs and experiences beyond health care. Few studies have addressed social/recreational activity participation and future plans and none have included parent/caregiver help in survey completion as a potential factor impacting responses.

Underinsurance in children with special health care needs: the impact of definition on findings.

To identify differences in groups of children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) identified as underinsured by two alternate definitions and discuss implications for policy decisions based on using one definition over another. Secondary data from the National Survey of CSHCN 2005/2006 were analyzed. Only CSHCN who were continuously-insured for 12 months were included in analyses.

The early years of Title V: extending and improving care for children with special health care needs, 1935-1941.

This historical study examines the early years of the federal program of services for children with physical disabilities in the United States (US) during the 1930s, known today as services for Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN). Established as part of the Social Security Act (SSA) of 1935, the Crippled Children Services (CCS) program was one of the first medical programs for children supported by the federal government. Under the SSA, states and territories quickly developed state-level CCS programs during the late 1930s.

Healthcare providers' satisfaction with a State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Purpose: This study's purpose was to understand how experiences with and perceptions of the health care plan characteristics influence provider satisfaction with a State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Methods: Physicians and other health care providers participating in one program (ALL Kids) were mailed a survey (n = 500). Pediatricians were the most likely to return the survey.

Does access to a medical home differ according to child and family characteristics, including special-health-care-needs status, among children in Alabama?

Objective: Our goal was to examine relationships among access to a medical home, special-health-care-needs status, and child and family characteristics in one Southern state. We hypothesized that access to a medical home is influenced by several family and child sociodemographic characteristics, including special-health-care status.

Methods: We used data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health.

The impact of SCHIP enrollment on adolescent-provider communication.

Purpose: Effective communication between physicians and adolescents is critical to convey health information, provide counseling and identify emerging health problems. This article addressed two questions: (a) After an adolescent enrolls in a State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), is there a change reported in communication between the adolescent and his/her health care provider; and (b) Is there a relationship between respondent's characteristics and change observed within specific content areas?

Methods: Adolescent preventive care guidelines developed by national organizations provided the study framework. Surveys were mailed to 3472 12-19-year-olds in a SCHIP; 1689 responded (response rate = 49%).

The association of child condition severity with family functioning and relationship with health care providers among children and youth with special health care needs in Alabama.

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to assess how the severity of a child's condition affects family functioning and the relationship with health care providers among children with special health care needs in Alabama.

Methods: Using the data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN), three variables were used as measures of condition severity: responses to the CSHCN screener questions, whether condition affected the ability to do things for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), and the level of severity of CYSHCN's condition. The dependent variables included family functioning and provider relationship.

Best practices for inclusive child and adolescent out-of-school care: a review of the literature.

Inclusion or full participation by children with disabilities in programs and activities designed for typically developing children benefits children with and without disabilities and their families. Inclusive care programs are least available for school-age children and adolescents. A review of the literature identified best practices for effective inclusive out-of-school care, including: a written program philosophy; a written plan for inclusive programs; strong leadership; a disability awareness program for staff and children; training and support for staff; sufficient staff to meet program needs; a working communication and collaboration; an adapted setting, activities, and time parameters; proficient collaboration with families; and an evaluation plan.

Association of early childbearing and low cognitive ability.

Context: Teenage pregnancy remains a pressing social issue and public health problem in the United States. Low cognitive ability is seldom studied as a risk factor for adolescent childbearing.

Methods: Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were used in a matched-pairs nested case-control study comparing women who had a first birth before age 18 with those who did not.