HRSA's Child Health USA 2006 Reports 85 Percent of Young Children Receive Preventive Care

	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration HRSA NEWS ROOM http://newsroom.hrsa.gov

July 25, 2007

Contact: HRSA Press Office
301-443-3376

HRSA's Child Health USA 2006 Reports 85 Percent of Young Children Receive Preventive Care

The latest edition of HRSA’s Child Health USA reports that 85.3 percent children under four years of age had at least one preventive medical visit in 2004. Children with family incomes above the Federal poverty level (74.5 percent) were more likely to receive a preventive visit than those children with family incomes below the poverty level (68.9 percent).

Child Health USA 2006 – the 17th annual report on the health status and service needs of American’s children – focuses on infants, children, adolescents, children with special health care needs, and women of childbearing age.

The availability of, and access to, quality health care directly affects the health of the population. This is especially true of those at high risk due to chronic medical conditions or low socio-economic status.

Other findings of Child Health USA 2006 include:

Early prenatal care among racial and ethnic groups with historically low rates of utilization, including non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women, has increased by at least 20 percent since 1990.
In 2004, 70.3 percent of mothers ever breastfed their infants, with Hispanic women most likely to breastfeed their infants (79.2 percent).
Low infant birth weight has risen steadily from a low of 6.7 percent in 1984 to 8.1 percent in 2004, the highest level recorded in the past three decades.
The parents of 68.4 percent of children reported that their children’s teeth were in excellent or good condition. In 2004, 72.3 percent of children had seen a dentist in the past year.
There were 18,293 people aged 13 to 24 years living with HIV/AIDS in 2004, representing approximately 4 percent of all cases.
Females aged 12 to 17 years were more likely than males to receive mental health treatment. The treatment rate among males declined with age, while the rate among females increased with age.

Child Health USA, is an easy-to-read snapshot of the most current children’s health data available and include graphs and summaries of long-term trends. This publication is available on-line at: www.mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa_06/.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. HRSA also is responsible for promoting and improving the health of our nation’s women, children and families. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.