| Four Major Findings |
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Four Major Findings 1.? Poverty is the primary determinant of the health risks that children face and child health status. While health services programs and delivery systems cannot be expected to bring an end to poverty -- or, for that matter, address it directly -- major health benefits will accrue if health systems can make significant accommodations and effective provision in delivering services to children to mitigate the overwhelmingly negative effects of their poverty status. 2.? In the St. Louis region, four critical problems related to the health of children were identified: ???? ???? ? Access to health care ???? ???? ? Lead poisoning ???? ???? ? Asthma ???? ???? ? Childhood obesity 3.? Access to health care is a key, complicated issue with many facets.? Simply locating child health resources in high-risk, high-need areas does not appear to be an adequate strategy on its own to?address the problem of health care access.? Targeted strategies are needed to address and resolve access issues related to: (a) affordability of care; (b) perceptions of patient treatment in the health care system; (c) transportation; (d) life skills of the client population; and (e) the cultural competency of health service providers. 4.? Sound data on key aspects of child health is not available on an ongoing basis to provide a foundation for strategic planning, policy development, and program delivery related to child health in the St. Louis region.? More comprehensive, regularly updated indicator data is needed to track the health status of children, key health risks young people face, and the community resources available and required to address risks and improve the health of children and youth. |
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