RECEIPT OF PREVENTIVE CARE

In 2004, 73 percent of children under 18 years of age were reported by parents to have had a preventive medical visit (or “well-child” visit) in the past year. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children have eight such visits in their first year, three in their second year, and at least one per year from middle childhood through adolescence.

Despite the recommendation that older children should have one preventive visit per year, only 68.3 percent of children aged 10 to 14 years and 63.8 percent of children aged 15 to 17 years received a well-child visit in the past year. Younger children (ages birth to 4 years) were the most likely to have received a well-child visit in the past year (85.3 percent).

The rate of preventive visits for children also varied by racial and ethnic group. Non-Hispanic Black children were the most likely to have received a preventive visit in the past year (79.4 percent), followed by non-Hispanic White children (73.9 percent). Hispanic children were least likely to receive a preventive visit (64.9 percent). Children with family incomes above the Federal poverty level were more likely to receive a preventive visit than those children with family incomes below the poverty level (74.5 versus 68.9 percent; data not shown).

> Bar Chart: Children Under Age 18 Who Have Received Preventive Medical Care in the Past Year, by Age: 2004

> Bar Chart: Children Under Age 18 Who Have Received Preventive Medical Care in the Past Year, by Race/Ethnicity: 2004