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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Tari D. Topolski, PhD, University of Washington, 146 N. Canal Street Suite 313, Seattle, WA 98103, 206 685-7259, topolski@u.washington.edu and Susan Kinne, PhD, Center for Disability Policy and Research, University of Washington, 146 N Canal Street #313, Seattle, WA 98103.
Oral health status, like health status tends to be poorer in low income families. One segment of the population that is more likely to live in low income families are children with special health care needs (CSHCN), which make up between 12 - 18 percent of child population in the United States (Stein, 1993; Newacheck, 1998). Dental caries is the single most common chronic disease of childhood, occurring five to eight times as frequently as asthma, the second most common chronic disease in children (Healthy People 2010). Among low-income children, almost 50% of tooth decay is untreated. In 2001, the Washington State Department of Health with funds from the CDC Office on Disability and Health, fielded the Foundation for Accountability (FACCT) screener for CSHCN on its disability supplement to the state Behavior Risk Factor Survey. Adult respondents who indicated that they were the adult who knew the most about the health and health care needs of the children living in the household were asked the screening questions regarding all children living in the household. A total of 191 children with special health care needs were identified in 530 households. In households with more than one child with a SHCN, one child was randomly selected as the subject child resulting in a sample of 144 children with SHCN and 386 without SHCN. Four oral health questions were asked about the randomly selected child in each household. Results from this survey will be presented.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Oral Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.