Abstracts » Health

Sources of health care and health needs among children in kinship care

Article Abstract:

Most children placed in relatives' care (kinship foster care) appear to have access to medical services, although many may not receive needed treatment. Researchers reviewed the medical records of 210 children in kinship foster care, examined the children, and surveyed their caregivers to study the medical needs and health care access. Ninety-three percent of the children had a primary source of health care and 66% of these had a regular health care provider. Young children and those placed in kinship foster care at a young age were significantly more likely than other children to have a primary source of care or a regular health care provider. Children who lacked a primary source of care were twice as likely to have an untreated mental problem as their counterparts. Significantly more children who lacked a primary source of care and a regular health care provider had health problems that required treatment.

Care and treatment, Usage, Foster home care, Child health services, Foster children

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Fathers and Child Neglect

Article Abstract:

Neglect of a child does not seem to be affected the the presence or absence of a father in the household, but by the degree of involvement the present father has with the child, the home and the family. In interviews and observations of 117 African American fathers, neglect was determined to be attributable to many variables. Measurement of child neglect was graded on the home (furnishings, sanitation, safety, etc), the child itself (clothing and hygeine), and maternal behavior toward the child (supervision, discipline, approval, expectations, etc). Videotapes were made of mother and child and father and child.

Analysis, Child abuse, Father and child, Father-child relations

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Asystoles during infancy recorded by home memory monitors: benign events?

Article Abstract:

Brief episodes of asystole in infants may be harmless. Asystole is a sudden profound drop in heart rate. Abnormally slow heart rate is suspected of playing a role in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Researchers analyzed monitor tracings of 161 infants having continuous home heart rate and breathing monitoring. Eight infants experienced 32 episodes of asystole lasting 2 to 4 seconds. None required resuscitation, and none experienced life-threatening events after monitoring was discontinued. All survived past their first birthday. Premature infants comprised 90% of the infants experiencing brief asystoles.

Diagnosis, Infants, Arrhythmia

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