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This is a publication of the Consortium for Children and Youth with Disabilities and Special Health Care Needs funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education under grant number H133B001200.

The opinions contained in this publication are those of the grantee and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Education

Access to Pediatric Rehabilitation

Lead Investigator
Marji Erickson Warfield, Ph.D.

Heller School
Brandeis University

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The purpose of this research project is to develop a contemporary, empirically based assessment of the extent to which children with a variety of special health care needs have access to needed pediatric rehabilitation services, to describe the prevalence of and types of access problems encountered, and to analyze sources of variability in access problems associated with the child's type and severity of condition, geographic location, and type of health plan coverage (Study 1A). We will also examine the extent to which children with special health care needs (SHCN) experience waiting lists for needed services (another aspect of "access" problems), and the relationship between special education services and health plans in the provision of pediatric rehabilitation therapies (Study 1B).

To accomplish this we will analyze data from two different but complementary national studies on the extent to which children with disabilities with SHCN experience access problems to pediatric rehabilitation services across a variety of different types of health plans. The first set of analyses will utilize data from 2,220 respondents to the "Your Voice Counts" (Study 1A). The second set of analyses will utilize data from the 1994-1995 National Health Interview Survey - Disability Followback Survey (Phase II).

The data from these two large national surveys will allow us to look at a large array of pediatric rehabilitation services delivered in medical facilities, homes, schools, and other settings and analyze access to each of these services. This will provide a national perspective on the extent to which access problems are affecting the range of received services for children with SHCN. In the second stage of the project, a new survey instrument will be developed that addresses both access issues and the impact of cost control strategies on service provision. This survey instrument will also examine access and impact for adolescents who are ready to transition into the adult service system.

Research Team Lead Investigator:
Marji Erickson Warfield, Ph.D.
Heller School, Mailstop 035
Brandeis University
P.O. Box 9110
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Tel: (781) 736-3832
Fax: (781) 736-3864
Email: mew@brandeis.edu

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Consortium Partners

[ Family Voices ]
[ Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development ]
[ The Heller School at Brandeis University ]
[ Institute for Child Health Policy ]

Page Last Modified: September 2004