PEDIATRICS Vol. 79 No. 2 February 1987, pp. 196-202
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Fosarelli, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Mellits, E. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Fosarelli, P. D.
Right arrow Articles by Mellits, E. D.

Health Services Use by Children Enrolled in a Hospital-Based Primary Care Clinic: A Longitudinal Perspective

Patricia D. Fosarelli MD1, Catherine DeAngelis MD1, and E. David Mellits ScD1

1 From the Departments of Pediatrics and Biostatistics, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore

The use of a hospital-based primary care clinic for health maintenance and illness care and use of the emergency room were monitored for 3 years for 293 children who had been enrolled in the clinic as infants. Infrequent users of one facet of care were infrequent users of other facets of care, and they remained so for all 3 years. The same trends were noted for frequent users. Children who used the clinic for health maintenance infrequently were more likely to have registered in the clinic after 2 months of age and to demonstrate consistently infrequent use throughout the 3 years. Children who used the clinic for illness care infrequently were more likely to have at least two siblings and to demonstrate consistently infrequent use. Children who used the emergency room infrequently were likely to have been consistently infrequent users for emergencies and illness throughout the 3 years. Conversely, those who used the clinic frequently for health maintenance were more likely to have registered before 1 month of age, to have multiple chronic conditions, and to demonstrate consistently frequent use for maintenance throughout the 3 years. Frequent users for illness came were more likely to have none or one sibling, multiple chronic conditions, and to demonstrate consistently frequent use for illnesses. Finally, children who used the emergency room frequently were likely to have multiple chronic conditions and to demonstrate sustained frequent use throughout the 3 years. These results suggest that patterns of use are established as early as the first year of life.

Key Words: health services • hospital-based primary care clinic

Submitted on August 22, 1985
Accepted on May 1, 1986




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. C. Brousseau, R. G. Hoffmann, A. B. Nattinger, G. Flores, Y. Zhang, and M. Gorelick
Quality of Primary Care and Subsequent Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization
Pediatrics, June 1, 2007; 119(6): 1131 - 1138.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
R. D. Mistry, R. G. Hoffmann, J. S. Yauck, and D. C. Brousseau
Association Between Parental and Childhood Emergency Department Utilization
Pediatrics, February 1, 2005; 115(2): e147 - e151.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. C. Brousseau, J. R. Meurer, M. L. Isenberg, E. M. Kuhn, and M. H. Gorelick
Association Between Infant Continuity of Care and Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization
Pediatrics, April 1, 2004; 113(4): 738 - 741.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
D. C. Brousseau, J. Bergholte, and M. H. Gorelick
The Effect of Prior Interactions With a Primary Care Provider on Nonurgent Pediatric Emergency Department Use
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, January 1, 2004; 158(1): 78 - 82.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
U. R. Kotagal, P. J. Schoettker, H. D. Atherton, R. W. Hornung, D. Bush, W. J. Pomerantz, and C. J. Schubert
Relationship Between Early Primary Care and Emergency Department Use in Early Infancy by the Medicaid Population
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, July 1, 2002; 156(7): 710 - 716.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
V. Sharma, S. D. Simon, J. M. Bakewell, E. F. Ellerbeck, M. H. Fox, and D. D. Wallace
Factors Influencing Infant Visits to Emergency Departments
Pediatrics, November 1, 2000; 106(5): 1031 - 1039.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
P. Bernal, D. Bendell Estroff, J. F. Aboudarham, M. Murphy, A. Keller, and M. S. Jellinek
Psychosocial Morbidity: The Economic Burden in a Pediatric Health Maintenance Organization Sample
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, March 1, 2000; 154(3): 261 - 266.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
J. A. Taylor, R. L. Davis, and K. J. Kemper
Health Care Utilization and Health Status in High-risk Children Randomized to Receive Group or Individual Well Child Care
Pediatrics, September 1, 1997; 100(3): e1 - e1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
S. M. Franco, C. K. Mitchell, and R. M. Buzon
Primary Care Physician Access and Gatekeeping: A Key to Reducing Emergency Department Use
Clinical Pediatrics, February 1, 1997; 36(2): 63 - 68.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
L. K. Grossman, A. J. Humbert, and M. Powell
Continuity of Care Between Obstetrical and Pediatric Preventive Care: Indicators of Nonattendance at the First Well-Child Appointment
Clinical Pediatrics, November 1, 1996; 35(11): 563 - 569.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
S. Feigelman, A. K. Duggan, C. M. Bazell, R. A. Baumgardner, E. D. Mellits, and C. DeAngelis
Correlates of Emergency Room Utilization in the First Year of Life
Clinical Pediatrics, December 1, 1990; 29(12): 698 - 705.
[Abstract] [PDF]