Racial/ethnic disparities in children’s medical and dental care were examined for White, African American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American, and multiracial children, using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health – a US telephone survey in 2003–2004 of a national random sample of parents and guardians of 102,353 children 0 to 17 years old. Many significant disparities were noted, such as uninsurance rates (e.g. 6% for Whites vs 21% for Latinos) and the proportions with a usual source of care (e.g. Whites 90% vs Native Americans 61%). Many disparities persisted for ≥1 minority group in multivariate analyses (e.g. increased odds of suboptimal health status, overweight, asthma, emotional difficulties, unmet medical and dental needs, transportation barriers to care, problems getting specialty care, emergency department visits, not receiving mental health care, and not receiving prescription medications). Certain disparities were particularly marked for specific racial/ethnic groups, and multiracial children also experienced many disparities.
