The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60567

Kim To, MHS¹, Jane A. Bernzweig, PhD¹, and Abbey Alkon, RN, PhD². (1) Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, California Child Care Health Program, 1322 Webster St. Suite 402, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 281-7923, kimto@itsa.ucsf.edu, (2) Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, 2 Koret Way, Box 0606 Room N411Y, San Francisco, CA 94143-0606

Inclusion of children with special health needs in child care is facilitated by having special care plans. The American Public Health Association and American Academy of Pediatrics stress the importance of using individualized health care plans for children with special health needs when children attend out-of-home child care settings. As part of an intervention study to implement child care health consultation services, the Child Care Health Linkages Project examined baseline data on children with special health needs and the availability of individualized health care plans. Special health needs are chronic medical conditions, physical disabilities, and emotional-behavioral problems. Health records (N=2053) of children ages 0-5 at 109 child care centers in five California counties were reviewed to assess the prevalence of children with special health needs and individualized health care plans. Results show that 26% (n=526) of children in these centers had special health needs. Of these 526 children, 10% (n=55) had individualized health care plans. These findings show that a majority of child care centers lack individualized health care plans for children with special health needs. Centers need additional support from health care professionals, especially child care health consultants, to work with staff and parents to develop and implement individualized health care plans. Centers need additional support in staff education, medication administration, coordination with medical homes, and referrals to health specialists and mental health providers.

Learning Objectives:

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to:
• Learn the importance of medical care plans in child care settings.
• Learn about the frequencies of medical care plans for children with special health needs.

Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Child Care

Related Web page: www.ucsfchildcarehealth.org

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.