The prevalence of intellectual disability (ID) in Poland is estimated at 47.8/10,000 among the population aged over 15 years. Although progress has recently been documented in the development of more positive attitudes toward integration of people with disabilities in society, social distance toward those with ID is persistent. Several Acts of…

This study uses a phenomenological approach to investigate elementary school teachers' perspectives on children's mental health service needs. Focus groups were conducted at two elementary schools with differing levels of available social services in a moderate-sized urban midwestern school district. Data collection centered on six prominent…

Mental and substance use disorders are leading contributors to the burden of disease among young people in Australia, but young people experience a range of barriers to accessing appropriate treatment for their mental health concerns. The development of early intervention services that provide accessible and effective mental health care has the…

This research brief describes an examination of the effect of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on children's access to needed health services and on their quality of life. The analysis focused on a sample of California families who had recently enrolled in that state's SCHIP. The study found that, after enrollment, children…

This article provides comments on an article by Dunst and Bruder. Families, practitioners, researchers, and policy makers have been involved with federal and state-funded early intervention programs for children with disabilities and special health care needs for a very long time. The authors have provided valuable information to lay a stronger…

Using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, this study analyzed the similarities and differences of variables associated with child care services for low-income families with young children with disabilities and low-income families with typically developing children. Four major variables were analyzed: access to child…

Background: People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) have a higher level of health needs, a higher level of which is unmet, compared with the general population. Health screening can detect unmet health needs, but it is unknown whether it effects beneficial health outcomes in the longer term. People with IDs are reliant on health management by…

Medicare, as a publicly funded insurance program, has produced significant improvement in the overall health of America's elderly populations. However, health disparities still persist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations in terms of overall access to health services. This study utilized data from the Hispanic Established Population…

This article describes the efforts of a group of people in the United Kingdom at Connect-the communication disability network-to make health and social services more communicatively accessible to people with aphasia. The project involved listening to people with aphasia talk about their experiences with health and social care services and working…

Since the release of former Secretary Margaret Heckler's "Secretary's Task Force Report on Black and Minority Health" more than two decades ago, excess death from chronic diseases and other conditions between African Americans and Whites have increased. The conclusion of that report emphasized excess death and thus clinical care, paying…

Throughout history, societal investments in children have resulted in increased prosperity for individuals, communities, states and nations. This proved to be the case for California in the 1950s and 1960s, when the state strongly supported children's futures. Despite once following this path to prosperity, California has de-prioritized children…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care's (NASBHC) 2007-2008 Census is the 11th request for data from school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986. The Census: (1) provides a better understanding of the role of SBHCs in meeting the needs of underserved children and adolescents; (2) collects relevant trend data on demographics,…

This document presents a statistical study of hospital use by children in the United States and Canada designed to determine why the hospital discharge rate of children in the United States is lower than many other Western industrialized nations, although the discharge rate for the general U.S. population is higher. Several reasons for the lower…

Interviews were conducted with refugees from Poland, Rumania, Iraq, and Vietnam to assess their health care utilization and health service use barriers. The results showed good overall health. The areas of greatest need were dental health, prenatal care, and mental health. Language was a barrier to health service utilization. (VM)

Noting that health benefits for children should be one of the principal goals of comprehensive early childhood initiatives, this Smart Start brochure provides information on "medical homes" and their importance to the overall health of children; the brochure also describes community strategies to help promote a medical home for all…