Factors associated with not having a personal health care provider for children in Florida.

Objective: National recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners promote that all children obtain quality primary care through a consistent medical provider who can better assess, diagnose, and monitor a child's health. The purpose of this article was to identify characteristics of children in Florida without a personal health care provider.

Methods: Florida data (N = 2116) from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health were analyzed by using bivariate and multivariate methods. The dependent, or outcome, variable was a personal health care provider, defined in the National Survey of Children's Health as a personal doctor or nurse.

Results: In Florida, 20.1% of children (0-17 years of age) do not have a personal health care provider compared with 16.7% in the United States. Children at greatest risk are those without health insurance. Other significant risk factors include family poverty up to 100% of federal poverty level, poverty level 100% to 199%, poverty level unknown, poverty level 200% to 399%, children aged 5 to 12 years, children aged 13 to 17 years, and Hispanic ethnicity. All the factors in the Florida model were also significant in the national model.

Conclusions: Lack of a personal health care provider is driven by larger community issues of health insurance, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity, including race, on a national level. To achieve the goal of a personal health care provider for children, a multifaceted approach needs to be considered. Knowing which children are without a personal health care provider provides valuable information for state policy-makers, program planners, and evaluators.