Health care access and utilization of homeschooled children in the United States

The phenomenon of homeschooling has grown in strength and size over the last few decades, but little empirical research exists on the health care access and utilization of homeschooled children. Homeschooled children may be at greater risk of undetected medical problems, because they may lack the safety net of observant teachers and routine medical screenings provided by the public education system. Their families may also be resistant to routine vaccinations because of religious or other spiritual beliefs. This paper examines whether homeschooled children had differential access to medical and dental care when compared to public-school students, using the 2003 and 2007 waves of the National Survey of Children's Health. I calculate Logit models and control for the impact of other variables known to impact health care access. Homeschooled children are significantly less likely to have received professional medical care (Odds Ratio = .53, 95% Confidence Interval .44 - .63), though they are not statistically less likely to have visited a dentist (Odds Ratio = .90, 95% Confidence Interval .73 - 1.11). I also investigate differential rates of having a Medical Home, having unmet health care needs, and rates of vaccinations. The differential health care access of homeschooled children raises important questions for public health regarding the social, medical, and educational outcomes of this growing segment of the school-age population.