CORRELATES OF CHILDRENS USE OF PHYSICIAN AND DENTIST SERVICES - ONTARIO CHILD HEALTH STUDY FOLLOW-UP

Objective: (1) To explore the correlates of dental and medical care ut ilization for children in Ontario and (2) to explore the stability of correlates of medical care use over time. Method: Data from the Follow -up Survey of the Ontario Child Health Study were used. Since likeliho od of use of both dental and medical care clustered within households, one randomly chosen child per household. aged 8-16 years, contributed data to the analysis. Bivariate associations between use of services and descriptors of the child and his/her family were examined. Results : Younger age, urban residents and parental perception of poorer healt h or hav fever/asthma increased the odds of a child receiving medical care in the previous six months. Dental care utilization was associate d with younger age of child, higher education of mother and high famil y income. Conclusions: Across time, consistency was observed in the fa ctors linked to children's use of medical services. Perceived need, th e child's age and an urban location are related to greater probability of use.