Related Experiment Videos
Preventive health care utilization. Prenatal and the first 3 years in a Utah population
P Gemperline1, J Brockert, L M Osborn
1Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of Utah Medical Center, Salt Lake City 84132.
Insights
Preventive health care is used more consistently before birth than in the first three years of life. Adequate insurance coverage is linked to better preventive service use and immunizations for young children.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Preventive Medicine
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Preventive health care is crucial for maternal and child well-being.
- Assessing utilization rates informs public health strategies and interventions.
- Understanding factors influencing service use can improve child health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the utilization of preventive health care services during pregnancy and for children up to three years of age.
- To identify the adequacy of prenatal and well-child visits based on established guidelines.
- To explore the association between preventive service utilization, immunization status, and health insurance coverage.
Main Methods:
- A mailed questionnaire was used to survey parents randomly selected from Utah birth records.
- Adequate prenatal care was defined as six visits; adequate well-child care as seven visits in the first three years.
- Response rate was 36.5% (219 parents).
Main Results:
- Prenatal care utilization was high, with only 1% not meeting the "adequate" definition (average 11.3 visits).
- Well-child visit utilization was lower, averaging 6.3 visits, with 56% having fewer than seven visits.
- Higher well-child visit frequency correlated with receiving the fourth diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DTP) immunization and having preventive care covered by insurance.
Conclusions:
- Families demonstrate more consistent use of preventive health services before birth compared to the early years of a child's life.
- Adequate health insurance coverage is associated with increased utilization of preventive health services.
- Improved preventive care uptake, particularly for well-child visits, is linked to more comprehensive immunization schedules.
Abstract:
The utilization of preventive health care services prenatally and for children up to 3 years old was determined by mailed questionnaire. The parents surveyed were randomly chosen from birth records provided by the Utah Bureau of Vital Records. "Adequate use of preventive services" was defined as six prenatal visits for a full-term pregnancy and as seven well-child visits during the first 3 years of life. Responses, received from 219 (36.5%) parents, indicated only 1 percent did not utilize adequate prenatal care. Women made an average of 11.3 visits during their pregnancies; 83 percent saw their prenatal health care provider at least 10 times. Well-child visits were less adequately utilized, an average of 6.3 visits per child. Fifty-six percent made fewer than seven visits; only 23 percent made all of the nine visits recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Patients who made seven or more well-child visits were more likely to have received their fourth diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus (DTP) immunization and to have health insurance policies that paid for preventive health care services. Results indicate that families use preventive services more consistently before the birth of their children than after. Use of preventive services is associated with adequate insurance coverage and results in more thorough immunization.