Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status, access to care, and use of services, according to a new national study by researchers at the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
For example, when the researchers looked at oral health, the rates of minority children, compared to white children, having teeth in less than excellent condition were 80 percent higher for Asian Pacific Islanders, 60 percent higher for African Americans, 50 percent higher for Latinos and 40 percent higher for Native Americans.
The comparative rates of children without health insurance were six percent among whites, 21 percent among Latinos, 15 percent among Native Americans, seven percent among African Americans, and four percent among Asian Pacific Islanders.
The rates for having a usual source of health care were: 90 percent for whites; 61 percent for Native Americans; 68 percent for Latinos, 77 percent for African Americans, and 87 percent for Asian Pacific Islanders.
Discrepancies in access to care included transportation barriers, not receiving prescription medications, not receiving mental healthcare, communication problems with their usual source of care, and problems getting specialty care.
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