Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National Health Interview Survey, 2012

Abstract

Objectives: This report presents both age-adjusted and unadjusted statistics from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) on selected health measures for children under age 18 years, classified by sex, age, race, Hispanic origin, family structure, parent's education, family income, poverty status, health insurance coverage, place of residence, region, and current health status. Topics included are asthma, allergies, learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), prescription medication use for at least 3 months, respondent-assessed health status, school days missed due to illness or injury, usual place of health care, time since last contact with a health care professional, selected measures of health care access, emergency room (ER) visits, dental care, and special education or early intervention services.

Data source: NHIS is a multistage probability sample survey conducted annually by interviewers of the U.S. Census Bureau for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics and is representative of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. This report analyzes data from two of the main components of NHIS: the Family Core, in which data are collected for all family members by interviewing an adult family respondent, and the Sample Child Core, in which additional health information is collected about a randomly selected child (the sample child) from an adult familiar with the child's health.

Selected highlights: In 2012, most U.S. children under age 18 years had excellent or very good health (83%). However, 7% of children had no health insurance coverage, and 4% of children had no usual place of health care. Six percent of children had unmet dental need because their families could not afford dental care. Twelve percent of children had one ER visit and 6% had two or more visits. Ten percent of children aged 3-17 years had ADHD.