The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48755

Anita A. Scarborough, PhD, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, CB 8185, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8185, 919-966-8914, Anita_Scarborough@unc.edu, Rune J. Simeonsson, PhD, MSPH, North Carolina Office on Disability and Health, University of North Carolina, CB# 8185, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8185, Kathleen M. Hebbeler, PhD, Center for Education and Human Services, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025, and Scott Campbell Brown, PhD, Office of Special Education Programs/Research to Practice Division, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Mary E. Switzer Building Room 3522, 400 Maryland Avenue Southwest, Washington, DC 20202-2641.

A frequently used indicator in evaluation studies of health is a global rating of health status ranging from poor to excellent. Population data from the National Health Interview Survey reported in 1997 that 84% of all children younger than 4 years of age had excellent or very good health status. By comparison only 61% of the infants and toddlers between birth and 3 years entering early intervention services in 1997 and 1998 were rated as such, with only 54% for infants younger than 12 months. As such, this indicator can be used to document characteristics of the general population as well as the status of subgroups of children with specific conditions. Early intervention services to infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities and their families have been mandated since 1986, when Congress passed PL 99-457, which provides for services to children with documented developmental delays in order to promote their health and development. Diagnosed medical and physical conditions that have a high probability of resulting in developmental delay act as proxies for documented delay for children between birth and 3 years of age. The presentation will describe the relationship between demographic characteristics of children in early intervention and health status, and will examine factors affecting changes in health ratings from the time of entry into services compared to health ratings at transition to Part B services at 3 years of age. The data presented is from the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS), the first national study of Part C recipients.

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