Children’s Health Status in the United States
The general state of a child’s health as perceived by their parents is a useful measure of the child’s overall health and ability to function. The 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health asked parents to rate their child’s health status as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Overall, the parents of 84.4 percent of children under 18 years of age reported that their child’s health was excellent or very good. This varied, however, by the child’s race and ethnicity.
Non-Hispanic White children and non-Hispanic children of multiple races were most likely to be reported in excellent or very good health (91.0 and 87.9 percent, respectively), followed by non-Hispanic children of other races (85.3 percent). Hispanic children were least likely to be reported in excellent or very good health (68.4 percent). Slightly more than 80 percent of non-Hispanic Black children were reported in excellent or very good health.
Parents were also asked to rate the condition of their child’s teeth as excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor. Overall, the parents of 70.7 percent of children aged 1-17 reported that their child’s teeth were in excellent or very good condition (the question was not asked of children under 1 year of age).
The child’s oral health status also varied with race and ethnicity. More than 80 percent of non-Hispanic White children and 76.9 percent of non-Hispanic children of multiple races were reported to have excellent or very good oral health, compared to 62.5 percent of non-Hispanic Black children and 49.3 percent of Hispanic children.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – http://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa08/hstat/hsc/pages/208hs.html