Does participation in preventive child health care at the general practitioner minimise social differences in the use of specialist care outside the hospital system?

Introduction: The primary purposes of preventive child health care in Denmark are to help ensure a healthy childhood and to create preconditions for a healthy adult life. The aim of this study is to examine whether participation in age-appropriate preventative child health care affects the association between the socioeconomic position of the family and subsequent use of specialised health care outside the hospital system.

Methods: The study population was children born in 1999 and living in Denmark between 1 January 2002 and 31 December 2006 (n=68,366).