Research Article

Disparities in the Clinical Encounter: Virginia's African American Children with Special Health Care Needs

Table 3

Predictor variables from conceptual categories.

Included from demographic models:

(i) race/ethnicity
(ii) age
(iii) sex
(iv) metropolitan statistical area (MSA) status (i.e., in MSA/not in MSA)
(v) household income (% of poverty level)
(vi) highest level of education of anyone in the household
(vii) whether the child was uninsured (yes/no)*
(viii) whether primary language spoken in household is English (yes/no)*
(ix) family structure
(x) whether the child’s health care has caused financial problems (yes/no)

Included from child characteristics models:

(i) stability of the child’s health care needs
(ii) whether the child has emotional problems (yes/no)
(iii) whether the child has behavioral problems (yes/no)
(iv) severity of the child’s condition or problem
(v) whether the child receives special education (yes/no)

Included from healthcare provider models:

(i) child has health care source (yes/no)*
(ii) child has usual routine preventive care source (yes/no)*
(iii) child has a personal doctor or nurse (yes/no)*
(iv) number of doctor visits in the past 12 months
(v) number of ER visits in the past 12 months

Included from healthcare access models:

Child’s health care delayed/foregone in the past 12 months (yes/no)
(ii) Child received all needed preventive dental care including checkups (yes/no)
(iii) Child received all needed prescription medicines (yes/no)

*Omitted for some outcomes because the variable was included in the definition of the outcome or because of low cell size.