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Natalie C. G. Freeman, PhD, MPH, Dona Schneider, PhD, MPH and Patricia McGarvey, RN, MS

Natalie C. G. Freeman is with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ, and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Piscataway. Dona Schneider is with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, and the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Patricia McGarvey is with Health First, Passaic Beth Israel Hospital, Passaic, NJ.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Natalie C.G. Freeman, 11 Cleveland Circle, Skillman, NJ 08558 (e-mail: nfreeman{at}eohsi.rutgers.edu).

Objectives. As part of an asthma screening study, we evaluated the relationship of health care insurance coverage to the diagnosis and treatment of elementary school children for asthma and related respiratory problems from 1998 through 2001.

Methods. A bilingual questionnaire assessing health care coverage, asthma diagnosis, respiratory symptoms, and use of medications was distributed to parents of 6235 public and private school children in grades 2 through 5 in Passaic, NJ.

Results. Responses for 4380 children (70%) revealed disparities in health care coverage and asthma diagnosis among racial and ethnic groups. Mexican and Dominican children had significant increases in health care coverage over the 4 years.

Conclusions. The percentage of children with health insurance grew from 67% in 1998 to 81% in 2001, and the increase was related to NJ KidCare. Diagnosis of asthma and treatment were related to health care coverage.

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