Child Development Programs in Community Health Centers

This report, the third in a series that reviews federal health policy related to child development, examines the role of community health centers in providing child development programs for children age 3 and younger. It also presents an analysis of health centers using the Uniform Data System, a database maintained by the federal Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) that contains user, utilization, and financial information on each reporting center. In addition, the report presents findings from a 2000 survey of four categories of child development programs at 79 health centers; examines the new prospective payment system for health centers and its potential impact on the provision of child development services; and offers recommendations for improved delivery of these services at health centers. Health centers administered by BPHC rely on public funds to provide comprehensive medical services, as well as a variety of social services, to low-income, medically underserved communities. By 2000, about 700 health centers served more than 9 million people at nearly 3,000 locations. As of 1999, 129 clinics designated by the federal government as meeting all standards applicable to federal health center grantees were serving another 1.8 million patients. Health centers are a major health care provider for children. They care for one of every six children of low-income families, and serve 1.3 million children under age 6.3 In 1998, births to health center patients accounted for one of five births to low-income families, or one of 10 of all births nationally. Because of their ability to identify at-risk children and to assess their social and primary care needs, health centers are valuable and essential providers of child development services. Findings presented in this report show that health centers provide many valuable programs and services that promote the healthy growth and development of a large number of young children. Maintaining and expanding their ability to seek out at-risk children, screen and assess their needs, and provide appropriate development services are important to improving the health and welfare of children and their families.This report, the third in a series that reviews federal health policy related to child development, examines the role of community health centers in providing child development programs for children age 3 and younger. It also presents an analysis of health centers using the Uniform Data System, a database maintained by the federal Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) that contains user, utilization, and financial information on each reporting center. In addition, the report presents findings from a 2000 survey of four categories of child development programs at 79 health centers; examines the new prospective payment system for health centers and its potential impact on the provision of child development services; and offers recommendations for improved delivery of these services at health centers

Series: The research agenda for general practice/family medicine and primary health care in Europe. Part 2. Results: Primary care management and community orientation 1

At the WONCA Europe conference 2009 the recently published 'Research Agenda for General Practice/Family Medicine and Primary Health Care in Europe' was presented. It is a background paper and reference manual, providing advocacy of general practice/family medicine (GP/FM) in Europe. The Research Agenda summarizes the evidence relating to the core competencies and characteristics of the WONCA Europe defi nition of GP/FM, and its implications for general practitioners/family doctors, researchers and policy makers. The European Journal of General Practice publishes a series of articles based on this document. In a fi rst article, background, objectives, and methodology were discussed. In this second article, the results for the core competencies 'primary care management' and 'community orientation' are presented. Though there is a large body of research on various aspects of 'primary care management', it represents a very scattered rather than a meta view. Many studies focus on care for specifi c diseases, the primary/secondary care interface, or the implications of electronic patient records. Cost effi ciency or process indicators of quality are current outcomes. Current literature on community orientation is mainly descriptive, and focuses on either care for specifi c diseases, or specifi c patient populations, or on the uptake of preventive services. Most papers correspond poorly to the WONCA concept. For both core competencies, there is a lack of research with a longitudinal perspective and/or relevant health or quality of life outcomes as well as research on patients' preferences and education for organizational aspects of GP/FM