RAND Report: Health and Health Care Among District of Columbia Youth
Children’s National commits to conducting a community health needs assessment (CHNA) every three years to understand the health and health care status of the pediatric population in the District. The assessment will guide the hospital in targeting its resources to achieve the greatest impact on child health and wellness at a population-level.
The most recent assessment was conducted in 2009. The assessment was a first-of-its-kind study conducted by RAND Health and is a comprehensive study of the health and health care of the 100,000 plus youth who reside in the District of Columbia.
The assessment is a unique blend of both data and interviews that lead to a comprehensive and grassroots view of the actual state of youth health in the District.
Key Findings
The District of Columbia leads the nation in children with health coverage, with only an estimated 3.5 percent uninsured children in DC in 2007 vs 9.1 percent uninsured nationally.
However, despite high levels of coverage, many barriers keep children from receiving primary and specialty health care in community-based settings, including:
Uneven distribution of primary and specialty care providers across the District; and
Infrastructure inequities, including ease of physical access and transportation.
As a result, many children rely on emergency rooms and are hospitalized for conditions that could be prevented.
Some health issues in the District are particularly alarming, including the highest or among the highest rates in the nation of obesity, asthma, oral health issues, HIV/AIDS, STI’s, adolescent pregnancy, and teen dating violence.
Many of these health threats are more equitably dispersed across the city than one might assume, rather than concentrated “east of the Anacostia river” in Wards 7 and 8.
Video: An In-Depth Look at the State of Pediatric Healthcare in DC
An overview of the Pediatric Health Needs Assessment report presented by Children's National and the RAND Corporation.
Next Steps
In answer to the findings of the Pediatric Community Health Needs Assessment, Children’s National joined forces with the District of Columbia Primary Care Association (DCPCA) and the District’s Department of Health to organize a series of Citywide Pediatric Health Forums.
The forums, called the Community Health Initiative, are an opportunity for health professionals, public and elected officials, non-profit organizations, academia, businesses, parents and families, and individual citizen-advocates—to develop, support, and implement a targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive citywide priority advocacy agenda that responds to the findings of the Pediatric Health Needs Assessment.
