Survey finds ethnic disparities in children's health

DES MOINES -- Children with Spanish-speaking parents were most likely to report problems accessing medical and dental care, but they also were physically active with fewer behavioral problems, according to survey results issued Tuesday.

Children whose parents chose to complete the survey interview in Spanish had the lowest overall health and oral health status, and were less likely to be insured, according to state Department of Public Health officials. Those parents also were less likely to believe their children needed medical care.

Conversely, children with Spanish-speaking parents were more likely to be physically active and spent less time in front of a television or computer, according to findings of the 2005 Iowa Child and Family Household Survey. They also were less likely to have behavioral problems.

The report, which was conducted in collaboration with the University of Iowa Public Policy Center and was the fifth in a series, focused on the racial and ethnic disparities in the health and well-being of Iowa children.

“While recent evaluations of children's health care in Iowa have been very positive overall, this study indicates there are still pockets of children who need our attention,” said Jane Borst, chief of the department's family health bureau. “Further study and action is needed to make sure all Iowa children have the same chance of growing up successful and healthy.”

Children with Spanish-speaking parents had more barriers to accessing care, lower overall health status and were most likely to be uninsured, according to the survey conclusions. But, fewer of these children were categorized as having a special health-care need and they were less likely to be considered in need of medical care.

“They were significantly more likely to be uninsured and rated their insurance lower if they had coverage,” according to the report. “Language/acculturation also seemed to be a factor in the lower level of awareness” of state programs such as HAWK-I and Medicaid benefits among Spanish-speaking parents.

African-American children were most likely to have public insurance coverage and also most likely to have dental insurance, according to the survey findings. They had the highest rates of asthma, were least likely to weigh the ‘right amount' in the parent's opinion, and were most likely members of a household with higher parenting stress or to be in a single parent household.

The survey architects cautioned that the results of health disparities among Iowa children should be interpreted c carefully because children were grouped by race/ethnicity and not by other factors that could influence outcomes, such as poverty, geographic region or available health care resources.

“Overall, the race/ethnicity of Iowa children was associated with a number of poorer outcomes that should be of concern to policymakers and for which further study and action is warranted to make sure all Iowa children have the same chance of growing up successfully and healthfully,” according to the survey.

The next Iowa Child and Family Household Survey will be conducted in 2010. For more information on the 2005 survey, visit http://ppc.uiowa.edu/health/ICHHS/iowachild2005/ichhs2005.htm.