1 Bunker Hill Health Center, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts
This study explores the benefit of a Health Center offering comprehensive health servicces to children by examining the effect of these services on school absenteeism. Average school absenteeism for the 991 children in the study group increased from 10.4 to 13.7 days respectively, for the school years prior to and about two years after the opening of the Center. No statistically significant relationship could be demonstrated between different levels of use of services at the Health Center and changes in absenteeism during the study.
Several alternative explanations of these results are proposed. Further studies of outcomes of comprehensive health care are needed if medical planners are to be able to allocate resources effectively.
Submitted on June 30, 1972