Somatic assessments of 120 Swedish children taken into care reveal large unmet health and dental care needs

Abstract

Aim: For decades, non-Nordic countries have consistently reported high rates of somatic health problems among children placed in care by the authorities. This study examined the unmet health and dental care needs of Swedish children in foster and residential care.

Methods: The health of 120 consecutive children aged 0-17 years, who had recently been placed in foster or residential care in one Swedish region, was assessed by an experienced paediatrician using patient records, their medical history and a physical examination.

Results: Following the assessments, 51% of the subjects received at least one referral to a specialist or to primary care, either for a previously undetected medical condition or for a follow-up of a previously detected condition noted in their patient records. The study showed that 40% of the girls and 33% of boys were overweight and completed vaccination rates were only 86% for children up to the age of six and 68% for 7- to 17-year-olds. Half of the 7- to 17-year-olds had untreated dental decay.

Conclusion: Our study revealed a large unmet need for health and dental care interventions among children placed in foster care and residential care and a systematic strategy is required to address those needs.

Keywords: Child health; Child welfare; Foster care; Residential care; Somatic health assessment.