Role of insurance type in the provision of adolescent preventive services: Findings from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)

Recent research indicates that preventive health care is a principal factor affecting the quality of primary care for adolescents. Studies examining the role that insurance type plays in the provision of adolescent preventive health services are few in number and less likely to focus on adolescent report. California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2007) data were analyzed to identify patterns of adolescent preventive service provision among youth with and without insurance and by insurance type. An RDD sample of 3638 adolescents, ages 12-17 years, was asked whether they talked to their provider about health-related issues during their most recent routine exam. Adolescents with a source of current insurance were more likely to report discussing physical activity (53.4%) and nutrition (54.2%) with their doctors than adolescents without insurance (45.1% and 43.6%, respectively). No insurance-based differences were observed for emotion or dental health discussions. Teens with employment-based or privately purchased insurance were no more likely to discuss preventive health topics than those with public health insurance. Females were significantly more likely to report discussing their moods and emotions at their last routine exam (58.3%) compared to males (41.7%). While discussion rates for most topics were low overall, having a source of current insurance increases the likelihood that youth and their providers discuss physical activity and nutrition, but not that they discuss dental or emotional health topics.