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PALO ALTO, Calif., Sep 13, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- California researchers say current healthcare delivery methods are inadequate to deal with chronic illnesses of children.
Dr. Paul Wise of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., said acute childhood illnesses, particularly infectious diseases like measles, are now prevented or managed.
However, chronic illnesses such as asthma, obesity and diabetes, as well as congenital and perinatal conditions, have become larger threats to children's health, said the study published in Health Affairs.
"There's a growing gap between where child health is moving and how we're attempting to deliver health care to kids," Wise said in a statement.
Current policies and programs don't respond to the needs of chronically ill children, especially past the age of 18, ignoring the increasingly evident linkages that adult-onset diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes have roots in childhood, according to Wise.
Copyright 2004 by United Press International.
