258986 Does Mothers' Lack of Health Insurance Negatively Affect Children's Health Outcomes and Health Seeking Behavior

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 10:50 AM - 11:10 AM

Ilhom Akobirshoev, MSW, PhD student , The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
     
A large body of literature investigates the effect of mothers' health and health seeking behaviour on that of her children's health. Existing studies have not yet explored the direct relationship between a mother's lack of health insurance and her children's health outcomes and health seeking behaviour in the US. From the ecological systems theory point of view, mother and child represent one system with strong relationships where mother's wellbeing has significant effect on child's development. We maintain that mothers' lack of health insurance, resulting in mothers' poor health, could serve as one of the major underlying causes for children's poor health and heath seeking behavior. Our analysis of direct relationship between mothers' health insurance coverage and children's health outcomes by using the 2003 NSCH data show that children who live with uninsured mothers compared to children living with insured mothers were significantly more likely to have poor health (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.37-2.90), less likely to use preventive care (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.13-1.52), and more likely to use emergency care (OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.37-2.03). We conclude that mothers' lack of health insurance negatively affects children's health. It also reduces the probability of children's utilization of preventive care and at the same time increases the probability of utilization of emergency care. Therefore, policies and programs designed to address children's health and wellbeing, among other things, need to draw on a systems approach and account for the mother and child system to be more effective in improving children's health outcomes.

Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Provision of health care to the public
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
1. Demonstrate that children who live with uninsured mothers compared to children living with insured mothers were significantly more likely to have poor health status (OR: 1.99; 95% CI: 1.37-2.90). 2. Demonstrate that children who live with uninsured mothers compared to children living with insured mothers were less likely to use preventive care (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.13-1.52). 3. Demonstrate that children who live with uninsured mothers compared to children living with insured mothers were more likely to use emergency care (OR: 1.67; 95% CI: 1.37-2.03). 4. Design of future policies and programs to address children’s health and wellbeing, need to draw on a systems approach and account for the mother and child system to be more effective in improving children’s health outcomes.

Keywords: Children's Health, Health Insurance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have all the required skills as a PhD student at Brandeis University, The heller School for Social Policy and Managent to design and develop study by using reliable secondary sources for my analysis (e.g. the National Survey of Children's Health dataset). Furthermore, the work was closely supervised by my faculty supervisor, who are experts in the field.
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.

Back to: 4149.0: Behavioral health issues across the lifespan