Trends in the prevalence and distribution of teacher‐identified special health‐care needs across three successive population cohorts

O’Connor, Meredith; O’Connor, Elodie; Quach, Jon; Vashishtha, Rakhi; Goldfeld, Sharon

doi:10.1111/jpc.14192

Cited by 24 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…To examine the intersection between socioeconomic disadvantage and developmental vulnerability participants were categorised into the following 4…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(9, 10) Australian research would suggest that only a small proportion of children entering school with additional needs have accessed health care with parents citing a number of clear barriers such as waiting times and cost of services across the health care system. (1,11,12) Socioeconomic disadvantage is both a risk factor for a child to be developmentally vulnerable and for inequitable access to health services. (13,14) Children who experience socioeconomic disadvantage are 1.5 -2 times more likely to be developmentally vulnerable than their more advantaged peers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The intersection of developmental vulnerability and socioeconomic disadvantage on access to health care for preschool aged children: evidence for the inverse-care law

Woolfenden¹,

Galea²,

Badland³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Aim. Children who are developmentally vulnerable have greater health needs. Socioeconomic disadvantage not only increases this risk of developmental vulnerability but can be associated with less access to health services. Our aim was to compare health services use in children aged 4-5 years in Australia with and without developmentally vulnerability and consider the intersection of socioeconomic disadvantage on this relationship. Method. Cross sectional data were collected from Wave 3 of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children birth cohort when the children were aged 4-5 years. A composite variable for developmental vulnerability was designed by combining those children who were in the lowest 15% in the physical, socioemotional and/or learning outcome indices. Children were then subgrouped according to developmental vulnerability and disadvantage based on socioeconomic position (SEP) quintile (derived from parental education, occupation, household income). We defined SEP 1 the lowest quintile as ‘disadvantaged’ and SEP quintiles 2-5 as ‘not disadvantaged’. Multivariate regression was used to examine the intersection between health service use and developmental vulnerability and disadvantage using these composite variables. Results The total number of children with information on developmental vulnerability in Wave 3 was 3967 (90% of the sample). A total of 1292 (32.6%) children were classified as developmentally vulnerable. 30.6% of children who were developmentally vulnerable came from families who were disadvantaged. Overall children who were developmentally vulnerable were reported to use more specialist/hospital health services than those who were not developmentally vulnerable (10-25 % vs 5-16%). Children who were developmentally vulnerable and not disadvantaged were 1.4-2.0 times more likely to have reported using a GP, paediatrician, other specialist, and Emergency Department compared with children who were developmentally vulnerable and disadvantaged. Conclusion Preschool children who are developmentally vulnerable have a higher reported use of specialist and hospital services compared with those who are not developmentally vulnerable. There is evidence of an inverse care law; those who were not disadvantaged with and without developmental vulnerability are more likely to use health services compared with their counterparts who were disadvantaged.

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“…To examine the intersection between socioeconomic disadvantage and developmental vulnerability participants were categorised into the following 4…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The intersection of developmental vulnerability and socioeconomic disadvantage on access to health care for preschool aged children: evidence for the inverse-care law

Woolfenden¹,

Galea²,

Badland³

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…By the time they enter school, the majority of Australian children have at least one ongoing health condition (Liu et al, ). Speech and language, emotional and behavioural, and learning difficulties are now the most common issues identified by teachers, with the proportion of children affected increasing over time (O'Connor, O'Connor, Quach, Vashishtha, & Goldfeld, ). Many of these difficulties impact on similar areas of children's functioning, such as communication or behaviour, have complex biopsychosocial aetiology, and necessitate multidisciplinary supports.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teachers play an important role in early identification; the increased social, language, and cognitive demands of the classroom environment often highlight children's need for greater support (O'Connor, Rosema, Quach, Kvalsvig, & Goldfeld, ). In addition, not all health and developmental difficulties that have been identified qualify children for special needs programs, and the degree to which the needs of children who fall outside this scope (18% of the school entrant population in Australia; O'Connor, O'Connor, Quach, Vashishtha, & Goldfeld, in press) are recognized and met is unclear (O'Connor et al, ). Other countries, such as the United States, can similarly face challenges in the timely response to children's emerging needs, given variability in the resources available within and across schools (Barnard‐Brak et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The risk of poor learning outcomes is likely to be amplified in the context of disadvantage. Children with emerging additional needs are overrepresented in more disadvantaged settings (O'Connor et al, in press). Yet, following the inverse care law, children living in disadvantaged contexts have less access to the medical, allied health, education, and related services that can help to ameliorate these impacts (Dalziel, Huang, Hiscock, & Clarke, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning outcomes of children with teacher‐identified emerging health and developmental needs

O’Connor

Chong

Quach

et al. 2020

Child

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Objectives: Children's additional health and developmental needs are often first identified by teachers when they begin school. This study estimates the Grade 3 literacy and numeracy outcomes of children with teacher-identified additional needs emerging in the first year of school, including the added burden conferred by socioeconomic disadvantage. Methods:Population linked data (n = 42,619) were analysed from the Australian Early Development Census, which include teacher reports on children's health and development at school entry, and the National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy, a direct assessment of reading and numeracy skills at Grade 3. Linear regression analyses were used to estimate associations between emerging needs and learning outcomes, adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. The combined effect of emerging needs and low maternal education (an indicator of socioeconomic disadvantage) on academic outcomes was examined by estimating the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). Results: Emerging health and developmental needs at school entry were associated with lower reading (b = −26.86, 95% CI = −29.19, −24.52) and numeracy (b = −24.39, 95% CI = −26.43, −22.35) outcomes at Grade 3. The combined effect of emerging needs and socioeconomic disadvantage was greater than expected when their individual effects are summed (RERI = 0.38, 95% CI 0.22, 0.55 for reading and RERI = 0.27, 95% CI 0.10, 0.43 for numeracy).Conclusion: In the current study, emerging health and developmental needs identified by teachers at the outset of schooling were associated with poorer literacy and numeracy skills at Grade 3, and family socioeconomic disadvantage appeared to further amplify this effect. Meeting the needs of these children will require timely and coordinated supports across the health and education systems, particularly for those children who are also disadvantaged. K E Y W O R D Sacademic achievement, additional needs, disability, school functioning, special educational needs and disabilities, special health care needs

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Child protection services for children with special healthcare needs: A population record linkage study

Hindmarsh

Laurens

Katz

et al. 2020

Aust J Social Issues

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Children with disabilities are known to have high rates of contact with child protection services. However, little is known about child protection contacts for a broader group of children with special healthcare needs (SHCN; i.e., special needs or other impairments of concern that affect learning). This study examined the characteristics of contact with child protection services (prior to the age of 6 years) for children with SHCN identified at school entry using the 2009 Australian Early Development Census, using administrative data from more than 65,000 children in the New South Wales Child Development Study. Child protection contacts prior to age 6 years were more prevalent among children with SHCN compared with those without; in particular, children with SHCN had higher odds of a history of exposure to neglect and physical abuse, and higher odds of being placed in out‐of‐home care, compared with their typically developing peers. Understanding the characteristics of child protection contacts among children with SHCN, with consideration of factors that may influence their patterns of contact with these and other human services agencies, will inform the development of appropriate social policy initiatives to fulfil Australia’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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Trends in the prevalence and distribution of teacher‐identified special health‐care needs across three successive population cohorts

Cited by 24 publications

References 33 publications

The intersection of developmental vulnerability and socioeconomic disadvantage on access to health care for preschool aged children: evidence for the inverse-care law

The intersection of developmental vulnerability and socioeconomic disadvantage on access to health care for preschool aged children: evidence for the inverse-care law

Learning outcomes of children with teacher‐identified emerging health and developmental needs

Child protection services for children with special healthcare needs: A population record linkage study

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