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Health needs of regional Australian children in out-of-home care
Nitin Arora1, Melissa Kaltner, Judy Williams
1Department of Family & Community Services, New South Wales, Australia.
Insights
Children in regional out-of-home care have similar health needs to urban children. However, accessing these essential services is challenging due to limited regional healthcare resources.
Area of Science:
- Child Health
- Public Health
- Healthcare Access
Background:
- Children in out-of-home care often have complex health requirements.
- Understanding regional disparities in healthcare access is crucial for this vulnerable population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and compare the health needs of children in regional Queensland's out-of-home care with those in metropolitan areas.
- To highlight potential barriers to healthcare access in regional settings.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective chart review of 239 initial assessments for children in out-of-home care (January 2005 - April 2011).
- Comparison of identified health needs and referral recommendations between regional and metropolitan Queensland clinics.
Main Results:
- Children aged 2-12 years accounted for the majority of health referrals (76%).
- Common needs included ongoing pediatric care (30%), counseling/behavior management (35%), and referrals to medical specialties, audiology, speech pathology, dental, and ophthalmology (10-13% each).
- Identified health needs were comparable to those in metropolitan out-of-home care settings.
Conclusions:
- Children in regional out-of-home care exhibit similar health needs to their metropolitan counterparts.
- Significant challenges exist in accessing necessary healthcare services for these children in regional Queensland due to service limitations.
Aim:
This study aims to identify the health needs of children placed in out-of-home care in regional Queensland and to compare them with the needs of similar children in metropolitan Queensland.
Methods:
Retrospective chart review and subsequent analysis of data from the first assessments of the children placed in care from January 2005 to April 2011. Health needs based on assessment recommendations were then compared with needs and recommendations from a similar clinic in metropolitan Brisbane.
Results:
Two hundred thirty-nine first assessments were reviewed. The average number of health referrals arising out of each assessment was 2. 72% children were between 2 and 12 years of age and accounted for 76% of the health referrals made. The 10-13% of the children needed referrals for medical and surgical specialties, audiology, speech pathology, dental, and ophthalmology/optometry, each. A percentage of 30 needed ongoing paediatric care. The 15% needed immunisation catch up, 35% counselling and behaviour management, and 15% formal mental health referrals. These were comparable to the health needs identified in out-of-home care children residing in metropolitan Queensland.
Conclusion:
Children in care who live in a regional setting have similar health-care needs compared with urban children. Given restricted health services in regional settings, there is difficulty in accessing services to meet these needs.
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