Elementary School-Based Health Centers and Access to Preventive and Asthma-Related Care Among Publicly Insured Children With Asthma in Georgia.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the effects of 3 new elementary school-based health centers (SBHCs) in disparate Georgia communities-predominantly non-Hispanic Black semi-urban, predominantly Hispanic urban, and predominantly non-Hispanic White rural-on asthma case management among children insured by Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). METHODS: We used a quasi-experimental difference-in-differences analysis to measure changes in the treatment of children with asthma, Medicaid/CHIP, and access to an SBHC (treatment, n = 193) and children in the same county without such access (control, n = 163) in school years 2011-2013 and 2013-2018. Among children with access to an SBHC (n = 193), we tested for differences between users (34%) and nonusers of SBHCs. We used International Classification of Diseases diagnosis codes, Current Procedural Terminology codes, and National Drug Codes to measure well-child visits and influenza immunization; ≥3 asthma-related visits, asthma-relief medication, asthma-control medication, and ≥2 asthma-control medications; and emergency department visits during the child-school year. RESULTS: We found an increase of about 19 (P = .01) to 33 (P < .001) percentage points in the probability of having ≥3 asthma-related visits per child-school year and an increase of about 22 (P = .003) to 24 (P < .001) percentage points in the receipt of asthma-relief medication, among users of the predominantly non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic SBHCs. We found a 19 (P = .01) to 29 (P < .001) percentage-point increase in receipt of asthma-control medication and a 15 (P = .03) to 30 (P < .001) percentage-point increase in receipt of ≥2 asthma-control medications among users. Increases were largest in the predominantly non-Hispanic Black SBHC. CONCLUSION: Implementation and use of elementary SBHCs can increase case management and recommended medications among racial/ethnic minority and publicly insured children with asthma.

Effect of Elementary School-Based Health Centers in Georgia on the Use of Preventive Services.

INTRODUCTION: This study measures effects on the receipt of preventive care among children enrolled in Georgia's Medicaid or Children's Health Insurance Program associated with the implementation of new elementary school-based health centers. The study sites differed by geographic environment and predominant race/ethnicity (rural white, non-Hispanic; black, small city; and suburban Hispanic). METHODS: A quasi-experimental treatment/control cohort study used Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program claims/enrollment data for children in school years before implementation (2011-2012 and 2012-2013) versus after implementation (2013-2014 to 2016-2017) of school-based health centers to estimate effects on preventive care among children with (treatment) and without (control) access to a school-based health center. Data analysis was performed in 2017-2019. There were 1,531 unique children in the treatment group with an average of 4.18 school years observed and 1,737 in the control group with 4.32 school years observed. A total of 1,243 Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program-insured children in the treatment group used their school-based health centers. RESULTS: Significant increases in well-child visits (5.9 percentage points, p<0.01) and influenza vaccination (6.9 percentage points, p<0.01) were found for children with versus without a new school-based health center. This represents a 15% increase from the pre-implementation percentage (38.8%) with a well-child visit and a 25% increase in influenza vaccinations. Increases were found only in the 2 school-based health centers with predominantly minority students. The 18.7 percentage point (p<0.01) increase in diet/counseling among obese/overweight Hispanic children represented a doubling from a 15.3% baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of elementary school-based health centers increased the receipt of key preventive care among young, publicly insured children in urban areas of Georgia, with potential reductions in racial and ethnic disparities.

School-Based Health Centers to Advance Health Equity: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: Children from low-income and racial or ethnic minority populations in the U.S. are less likely to have a conventional source of medical care and more likely to develop chronic health problems than are more-affluent and non-Hispanic white children. They are more often chronically stressed, tired, and hungry, and more likely to have impaired vision and hearing-obstacles to lifetime educational achievement and predictors of adult morbidity and premature mortality. If school-based health centers (SBHCs) can overcome educational obstacles and increase receipt of needed medical services in disadvantaged populations, they can advance health equity. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A systematic literature search was conducted for papers published through July 2014. Using Community Guide systematic review methods, reviewers identified, abstracted, and summarized available evidence of the effectiveness of SBHCs on educational and health-related outcomes. Analyses were conducted in 2014-2015. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Most of the 46 studies included in the review evaluated onsite clinics serving urban, low-income, and racial or ethnic minority high school students. The presence and use of SBHCs were associated with improved educational (i.e., grade point average, grade promotion, suspension, and non-completion rates) and health-related outcomes (i.e., vaccination and other preventive services, asthma morbidity, emergency department use and hospital admissions, contraceptive use among females, prenatal care, birth weight, illegal substance use, and alcohol consumption). More services and more hours of availability were associated with greater reductions in emergency department overuse. CONCLUSIONS: Because SBHCs improve educational and health-related outcomes in disadvantaged students, they can be effective in advancing health equity.