Eos Grantees in the News

Children’s HealthWatch Highlights Consequences of Poverty on Children

October, 2009

Children’s HealthWatch—an Eos grantee and pediatric research network focused on the health of children under age three—recently released two reports highlighting the dire consequences for children living in poverty.

First, in a white paper written by Children’s HealthWatch for Feeding America and The ConAgra Foods Foundation—Child Food Insecurity: The Economic Impact on our Nation—the data demonstrates how hunger and a lack of access to healthy food can significantly alter the architecture of children's brains, affecting their ability to reach their full potential as adults. In fact, very young children who live in food insecure households, even “mildly insecure,” are two-thirds more likely to be at risk for cognitive, motor or socio-emotional problems on screening tests when compared to those living in households with access to enough healthy food. With 12.4 million children listed as “food insecure” in 2006, that’s a serious social problem—but one that can readily be addressed through policy change, if there is the political will.

The other recent report—part of Children’s HealthWatch’s ongoing Policy Action series—finds that young children in families who struggle to pay for health care are at increased risk for health problems, hospitalizations, developmental delays and food insecurity, even if the children themselves are insured. That may be due to co-payments or prescriptions that families can’t afford. In fact, in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll, 55 percent of Americans reported their households delayed needed health care treatment due to cost in the past 12 months.

Research shows that when parents are able to afford healthcare, they are better able to work and care for their children—findings that are particularly critical as our nation grapples with healthcare reform and questions of what, and whom, should be covered.

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