205932 Role of insurance type in the provision of adolescent preventive services: Findings from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009: 11:31 AM

Elaine Zahnd, PhD , Public Health Institute, Oakland, CA
Sally H. Adams, RN, PhD , Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Elizabeth M. Ozer, PhD , Division of Adolescent Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
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.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to explain the contribution of current insurance on the provision of adolescent preventive services. Participants will be able to compare rates of the provision of adolescent preventive services among those with insurance and by insurance type by demographics, such as gender, age and race/ethnicity. Participants will be able to identify the need for medical providers to regularly screen for a broad array of adolescent preventive health issues.

Keywords: Preventive Medicine, Health Insurance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have my doctorate in Sociology and have worked in the field of adolescent health for over 30 years. I also currently work on the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and am responsible for adolescent health content in the survey.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.