Summaries of Independent Scientist (K) Awards

Flores, Glenn

Institution: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Grant Title: Insuring Uninsured Children
Grant Number: K08 HS011305
Duration: 5 years (2000-2005)
Total Award: $299,500

Project Description: The project had two main goals:

1. Use focus groups to identify the reasons why parents are unable to obtain health insurance for their uninsured children, with an emphasis on Latinos.
2. Conduct a randomized control trial to evaluate whether case managers are more effective than traditional methods in insuring uninsured children.

Career Goals: Dr. Flores is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Southwestern Medical School at the University of Texas. He holds the Judith and Charles Ginsburg Endowed Chair in Pediatrics. He received his MD from the University of California, San Francisco and did his Pediatric residency at the New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Yale University. Dr. Flores has become a recognized leader in child health services research through conducting research that will positively impact children's health, particularly minority, poor, and underserved by the health care system.

Progress to Date: This grant has been completed.  Dr. Flores found parents reported a substantial number of barriers to insuring their children, including lack of knowledge about applications/eligibility, language barriers, immigration issues, income, hassles, and system problems.  Even in a state where all low-income children are eligible for insurance, State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)/Medicaid outreach/enrollment is not reaching uninsured Latino children.

Highlights and Specific Accomplishments:

• Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar.
• Chair, Latino Consortium of the American Academy of Pediatrics Center for Child Health Research, 2001-2002.
• Member, Expert Panel, Health Care Language Services Implementation Guide, Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• National Advisory Committee of the National Hispanic Medical Association.
• Committee on Pediatric Research of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Advisory Group, Ambulatory pediatric Association new Century Scholars program.

K-Generated Publications (selected):

Flores G.  Providing culturally competent pediatric care:  Integrating pediatricians, institutions, families, and communities into the process.  Journal of Pediatrics 2003. 143:1-2

Flores G, Abreu M, Chaisson CE, Sun D.  Keeping children out of hospitals: Parents' and physicians' perspectives on how pediatric hospitalizations for ambulatory sensitive conditions can be avoided. Pediatrics 2003. 112:1021-30.

Flores G, Abreu M, Sun D, Tomany Sc.  Urban parents' knowledge and practices regarding managed care.  Medical Care 2004. 42:336-45.

Flores G. Culture, ethnicity and linguistic issues in pediatric care:  Urgent priorities, unanswered questions, and a research agenda.  Ambulatory Pediatrics 2004. 4(4):276-82.

Flores G.  The impact of medical interpreter services on the quality of health care:  A systematic review.  Medical Care Research and Review 2005. 62(3):255-99.

Flores G, Abreu M, Schwartz I, Hill M. The importance of language and culture in pediatric care: Case studies from the Latino community.  Journal of Pediatrics 2000. 137:842-48.

Flores G, Sheehan P. Dealing with adolescent Latino patients. American Family Physician 2001. 63:2285-88.

Requena-Kassarjian Y, Flores G. An infant with respiratory distress.  Clinical Pediatrics 2001. 40:507-9.

Flores G, Guentes-Afflick E, Carter-Pokras O, et al. The health of Latino children: Urgent priorities, unanswered questions, and a research agenda. Journal of the American Medical Association 2002. 288:82-90.

Flores , G. Mad scientists, compassionate healers, and greedy egotists: The portrayal of physicians in the movies. Journal of the National Medical Association 2002. 94:635-58.

Flores G, Rabke J, Pine W, Sabarwhal A. The importance of cultural and linguistic issues in the emergency care of children. Pediatric Emergency Care 2002. 18:271-84.

Flores G. Cultural and linguistic determinants in the diagnosis and management of development delay in a four year old. Journal of Developmental Behavior in Pediatrics 2002. 23:371-75.

Flores G, Laws MB, Mayo SJ, et al. Errors in medical interpretation and their potential clinical consequences in pediatric encounters. Pediatrics 2003. 111:6-14.

Taveras E, Flores G. Why culture and language matter: The clinical consequences of providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services to children in the emergency department. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine 2004. 5:76-84.

Young J, Flores G, Berman S. Access to lifesaving health care for undocumented children. Pediatrics 2004. 114:1316-20.

Flores G, Ilson L, Tomany-Korman SC. Racial and ethnic disparities in early childhood health and healthcare. Pediatrics 2005. 115;e183-93.

Flores G, Tomany-Korman SC, Olson L. Does disadvantage start at home? Racial and ethnic disparities in health-related early childhood home routines and safety. Archives in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 2005. 159:158-65.

Ku L, Flores G. Loss in translation: Paying for interpreter services in healthcare for the millions of Americans with limited English proficiency. Health Affairs 2005. 24:435-44.

Flores G, Abreu M, Tomany-Korman SC, Meurer J. Keeping asthmatic children out of hospitals: Parents' and physicians' perspectives on how pediatric asthma hospitalizations can be prevented. Pediatrics 2005. 116:957-65.

Flores G, Abreu M, Brown V, Tomany-Korman SC. How Medicaid and the state children's health insurance program can do a better job of insuring uninsured children: The perspectives of parents of uninsured Latino children. Ambulatory Pediatrics 2005. 5:332-40.

Return to Career Development Award Grants