Shortfalls in Children's Health Tied to Parents' Income, Education, Report Finds
Substantial shortfalls in the health of children based on family income and education are widespread across the country and in every state, a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America finds.
The report, America’s Health Starts With Healthy Children: How Do States Compare?, found that 16 percent of children age 17 and younger are in less than optimal health based on their parents’ descriptions — a rate that varies widely across states from a high of 22.8 percent in Texas to a low of 6.9 percent in Vermont. The report also found that some 40 percent of U.S. children live in poor or near-poor households, while 30 percent live in middle-income households.
Nationally and in nearly every state, children in poor families are more likely to be in less than optimal health than children in higher-income families, while in some states children in middle-income families are twice as likely as wealthier children to be in less than optimal health. In Texas, for example, 44 percent of children in poor families are in less than optimal health compared with 6.7 percent of all children in higher-income families.
The report found that one-third of children live in households in which no one has had schooling beyond high school and that children in such households are more than four times as likely to be in less than optimal health as children living with someone who has completed some college. While infant mortality rates are highest among babies born to mothers with no more than twelve years of schooling, the rate for babies born to mothers with thirteen to fifteen years of schooling is 40 percent higher than the rate for babies born to mothers with at least sixteen years.
"All parents want their children to grow up to lead long, healthy lives, but sadly, not all of our children have the same opportunities to reach those goals," said Alice M. Rivlin, co-chair of the commission. "This report shows us just how much a child’s health is shaped by the environment in which he or she lives. We seek to identify ways to narrow these gaps so our nation can put all children on an even path to good health."
Found at: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=229600024
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