Chartbook on Rural Health Care

Advice for Children About Exercise

Children ages 2-17 for whom a health provider gave advice within the past 2 years about the amount and kind of exercise, sports, or physically active hobbies they should have, by residence location, 2002-2012

Source:  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002-2012.

• Importance: Childhood is often a time when people establish healthy lifelong habits. Physicians can play an important role in encouraging healthy behaviors from a young age. For example, they can educate children and parents about the importance of regular exercise.
• Overall Rate: In 2012, 41.8% of children ages 2-17 received advice about exercise, sports, or physically active hobbies.
• Trends:
  • From 2002 to 2012, the overall percentage of children who received about exercise improved from 30.0% to 41.8%.
  • Children residing in all geographic locations showed improvement.
• Groups With Disparities: In 2012, children in medium metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas were less likely to receive advice about exercise, sports, or physically active hobbies than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.

Advice for Children About Exercise

Children ages 2-17 for whom a health provider gave advice within the past 2 years about the amount and kind of exercise, sports, or physically active hobbies they should have, by residence location, stratified by race/ethnicity, 2012

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2012.
Note: Data unavailable for Blacks in noncore areas

• Groups With Disparities:
  • Among Hispanic children, residents of large central metropolitan, medium metropolitan, and small metropolitan areas were less likely than residents of large fringe metropolitan areas to have a health care provider give advice about the amount and kind of exercise, sports, or physically active hobbies they should have.
  • Among White children, residents of micropolitan and noncore areas were less likely than residents of large fringe metropolitan areas to have a health care provider give advice about the amount and kind of exercise, sports, or physically active hobbies they should have.

Advice for Children About Healthy Eating

Children ages 2-17 for whom a health provider gave advice within the past 2 years about eating healthy, by residence location stratified by race/ethnicity, 2012

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2012.
Note: Data not available for Black children in noncore areas. White and Black are non-Hispanic. Hispanic includes all races.

• Importance: It is essential for physicians to emphasize to patients the importance of consuming foods from all food groups, including whole grains and fibers, lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables, as well as providing education about balancing energy intake and energy expenditure.
• Overall Rate: In 2012, 57.1% of children ages 2-17 received advice about healthy eating (data not shown).
• Groups With Disparities:
  • Overall, in 2012, children residing in micropolitan and noncore areas were less likely to receive advice about healthy eating than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.
  • Among Hispanic children, residents of medium and small metropolitan areas were less likely than children in large fringe metropolitan areas to receive advice about healthy eating.
  • Black children in micropolitan areas were less likely than children in large fringe metropolitan areas to receive advice about healthy eating.
  • White children residing in micropolitan and noncore areas were less likely than children in large fringe metropolitan areas to receive advice about healthy eating.

Children With a Dental Visit

Children ages 2-17 who had a dental visit in the calendar year, by residence location, 2002-2012

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2002-2012.

• Importance: According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, presence of dental caries is the single most common chronic disease of childhood, occurring five to eight times as frequently as asthma (NIDCR, 2000), the second most common chronic disease in children. Regular dental visits help to improve overall oral health and prevent dental caries.
• Overall Rate: In 2012, 52.8% of children ages 2-17 had a dental visit in the calendar year.
• Trends: From 2002 to 2012, there were no statistically significant changes in the overall rate nor among children residing in any geographic location.

Children With a Dental Visit

Children ages 2-17 who had a dental visit in the calendar year, by residence location, stratified by race/ethnicity, 2012

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2012.
Note: Data unavailable for Black children in noncore areas. White and Black are non-Hispanic. Hispanic includes all races.

• Groups With Disparities:
  • Hispanic children living in large central metropolitan areas were less likely to have a dental visit than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.
  • Among White and Black children, there were no statistically significant differences between those living in large fringe metropolitan areas and those in other geographic locations in the percentage who had a dental visit.

Children With a Wellness Checkup

Children age 17 and under with a wellness checkup in the past 12 months, by residence location, stratified by race/ethnicity, 2012

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey, 2012.

• Groups With Disparities:
  • Overall in 2012, children residing in small metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas were less likely to have a wellness visit than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.
  • Hispanic children living in micropolitan and noncore areas were less likely to have a wellness visit than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.
  • White children living in small metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas were less likely to have a wellness visit than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.
  • Black children living in micropolitan areas were less likely to have a wellness visit than children in large fringe metropolitan areas.

Advice About How Smoking in the House Can Harm Children

Children for whom a health provider gave advice within the past 2 years about how smoking in the house can be bad for a child, by residence location, stratified by race/ethnicity, 2012

Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, 2012.

• Importance: Secondhand smoke can cause serious health problems in children. Studies show that older children whose parents smoke get sick more often. Their lungs grow less than children who do not breathe secondhand smoke, and they get more bronchitis and pneumonia.
• Groups With Disparities:
  • Among Hispanic children who received advice about how smoking in the home can be bad, there were no statistically significant differences between residents of large fringe metropolitan areas and other geographic areas.
  • White and Black children living in small metropolitan areas were more likely to receive advice about how smoking in the home can be bad than children living in large fringe metropolitan areas.

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