The effect of parental immigration authorization on health insurance coverage for migrant Latino children.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
To examine if immigration authorization among parents is associated with health insurance coverage for migrant Latino children.

DATA SOURCE:
A cross-sectional household survey of 300 migrant families for which one child, aged <13 years, was randomly selected.

RESULTS:
Most children lacked insurance (73%) and had unauthorized parents (77%). Having an authorized parent or parental stay of more than 5 years in the US were each positively associated with children's health insurance coverage [OR:
4.9; 95%

CI:
(2.7-8.7) and [OR = 6.7; 95%

CI:
(3.8-12.0), respectively]. The effect of parental authorization did not persist in multivariable logistic regression analysis; however, more than 5 years of parental stay in the US remained associated with children's insurance coverage [OR = 4.8; 95% CI (1.8-12.2)], regardless of parental authorization.

CONCLUSION:
Increased parental familiarity with US health and/or social services agencies, rather than parental authorization status, is important to obtaining health insurance for migrant children. Efforts to insure eligible migrant children should focus on recently arrived families.

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Author information

Author/s: Weathers, Andrea C (AC); Minkovitz, Cynthia S (CS); Diener-West, Marie (M); O'Campo, Patricia (P);

Affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445, USA. andrea_weathers@unc.ecu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of immigrant and minority health / Center for Minority Public Health (J Immigr Minor Health), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jun; vol 10 (issue 3) : pp 247-54

Dates: Created 2008/03/07; Completed 2008/05/07;

PMID: 18188701, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Hispanic Americans
Humans
Infant
Insurance Coverage - statistics & numerical data
Insurance, Health - statistics & numerical data
Male
Parents
Socioeconomic Factors

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