August 10, 2007
Single dads providing less health care
From Reuters via Revolution Health:
Using data from a national survey of U.S. families, researchers found that fewer children in single-father homes made routine, "well-child" doctor visits compared with children in either two-parent or single-mother homes.
The children with single fathers were also 20 percent more likely to go a full year without health insurance, according to findings published online by the journal Health Services Research.
In contrast, children of single mothers had "comparable if not better access to care" than children living with both parents, the study authors report.
"The bottom line is that children in single-father families may be more vulnerable to health problems because they're not getting well-child visits or they don't have easy access to care when they need it," study co-author Dr. Kathleen Ziol-Guest said in a statement.
Full article at Health Services Research.