Simpson G, Bloom B, Cohen R A, Parsons P E
Vital Health Stat 10. 1997 Jul(196):1-46.
This report presents national estimates of access to medical care and unmet health care needs for children through 17 years of age by selected sociodemographic variables including sex, age, race and/or ethnicity, family income, family structure, place of residence, and health status. In addition, the impact of children's health insurance status on access to care is described.
Data from the 1993 Access to Care and Health Insurance questionnaires of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) are analyzed to examine access indicators. The NHIS is a continuing household survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. The sample included 16,907 children from infants through 17 years of age from 24,071 households.
In 1993, over 7.3 million U.S. children had at least one unmet health care need or had medical care delayed because of worry about the cost of care. These health care needs included medical care, dental care, prescription medicine, glasses, and mental health care. In addition, almost 4.2 million children lacked a regular source of health care. Factors related to access indicators included health insurance, family income, race and/or ethnicity, family structure, and place of residence. The lack of health insurance or inability to afford care was the main reason given by respondents for children lacking a regular source of medical care.
In the United States, millions of children do not receive needed health care services. Uninsured children and those in families with low income are at the greatest risk of having unmet health needs.
本报告呈现了按选定的社会人口统计学变量（包括性别、年龄、种族和/或族裔、家庭收入、家庭结构、居住地点和健康状况）划分的17岁及以下儿童获得医疗服务的全国估计数以及未满足的医疗保健需求。此外，还描述了儿童健康保险状况对获得医疗服务的影响。
分析来自1993年全国健康访谈调查（NHIS）的医疗服务可及性和健康保险调查问卷的数据，以检查医疗服务可及性指标。NHIS是对美国非机构化平民人口进行的持续家庭调查。样本包括来自24,071户家庭的16,907名从婴儿到17岁的儿童。
1993年，超过730万美国儿童至少有一项未满足的医疗保健需求，或因担心医疗费用而推迟了医疗服务。这些医疗保健需求包括医疗服务、牙科护理、处方药、眼镜和心理健康护理。此外，近420万儿童缺乏固定的医疗服务来源。与医疗服务可及性指标相关的因素包括健康保险、家庭收入、种族和/或族裔、家庭结构和居住地点。受访者指出，缺乏健康保险或无力支付医疗费用是儿童缺乏固定医疗服务来源的主要原因。
在美国，数百万儿童没有获得所需的医疗保健服务。未参保儿童和低收入家庭儿童未满足健康需求的风险最大。
