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Natural Wonders: The State of Children’s Health in Arkansas Provides Comprehensive Update on How State’s Youngest Fare

Publication Date: February 11, 2009

An updated, comprehensive analysis of the overall health of the state’s children is available after months of work by a unique partnership of health care providers, state agencies and other organizations concerned about improving the health status of young Arkansans.

Their efforts have resulted in Natural Wonders: The State of Children’s Health in Arkansas 2008, Second Edition, a report that opens the discussion on the health needs of the state’s youngest citizens by providing a full range of data about issues they face. The report offers strategies for improving children’s health based on data collection and analysis. In addition, Natural Wonders aims to deter preventable illnesses and injuries through promoting health literary.

The report, created by the Natural Wonders Partnership Council, incorporates traditional indicators of health such as mortality and chronic disease rates as well as social factors that influence health including economics and education. When combined, these determinants provide a detailed examination of children’s health that emphasizes breadth and depth of information. The Council engaged phone surveys and diverse study circles to provide the most insight possible.

“I’m honored to be part of the release of the second edition of the Natural Wonders report,” said Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe, honorary chair of the council. “These 25 organizations share a vision and recognize that, by working together, we can make new strides to improve the health of our children.”

Important Findings

Drawing on the resources of several collaborating agencies and institutions, the report notes mortality rates for Arkansas children under the age of 14 are 20 to 30 percent higher than the national average, largely because of a spike in fatalities from transportation crashes. To address this issue, Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) opened the Injury Prevention Center in 2008. The center’s goal is to explore and find new ways to reduce the number of children killed each year because of preventable injuries and to generate awareness in Arkansas communities about important preventive measures.

The Natural Wonders Partnership Council also found that 40 percent of the state’s fifth graders are overweight or are at risk of being overweight. As obesity continues to be a roadblock to good health for many Arkansans, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity (RWJF Center) has been set up based at the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement in strategic partnership with PolicyLink of Oakland, Calif. The RWFJ Center was launched as a national institution focused solely on the epidemic that threatens our country’s children and adolescents – and on the actions needed to reverse it.

In addition, Natural Wonders indicates that only 15 percent of young Arkansas children have had preventative sealants applied to their teeth and just 62 percent of Arkansans drink fluoridated water. Several efforts are underway to address pediatric oral health. Among them, ACH is partnering with the Arkansas Department of Health Office of Oral Health and its Seal the State program in an effort to apply sealants to the teeth of 2,000 Arkansas children between 2008 and 2009. More than 320 children already have received these treatments through the program.

“The Natural Wonders update shows that we are making some progress, and that’s something every Arkansan can be pleased about,” said Jonathan Bates, MD, president and CEO of Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). “But the work ahead of us is tremendous and the children who are depending on us are many. Policymakers, families and health care providers must join together to build a healthier future for all of them.”

The report offers hope for the state’s children. It encourages a series of actions that will have long-term potential to help young Arkansans live healthy and productive lives.

They include:

Improving promotion of prenatal care among minority women and teens by increasing access to Medicaid and assuring access for prenatal health services.
Championing a graduated driver’s license (GDL) to include provisions that reflect the ideal implementation of such a policy as outlined by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Ensuring that children have a medical home that can guide and coordinate screening diagnosis and treatment.
Expanding the methods of transferring nutrition education/information to parents and children to include elements like restaurant menu labeling.
Increasing the Safe Routes to School initiatives that encourage safe routes for children to walk or ride a bicycle from home to school and back.
Exploring novel methods for delivering routine preventive health services to families in a more expeditious and accessible manner such as using paraprofessionals or different sites such as mobile health clinics.
Creating health information systems that can inform the parent, the provider and the school in coordinating health services including electronic, Web-based personal health records.
Using technological advances, such as telemedicine, to provide expert diagnosis and treatment.
Developing programs that recruit students, especially minority students, in middle and high school into health career paths.

Each year a diverse panel of representatives from agencies and organizations concerned about improving children’s health will update Natural Wonders to refine the overall view it provides. Comprised of educators, business leaders, government officials, physicians, nurses, social workers and other community advocates, the group meets regularly to review works being done to improve Arkansas children’s health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital has funded the information-gathering stage of the Council’s work.

Natural Wonders is sponsored by several organizations concerned with ensuring Arkansas children have the best chances for healthy and happy lives: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families; Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Arkansas Center for Health Improvement; Arkansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Arkansas Children’s Hospital; the Arkansas Department of Health; the Arkansas Department of Human Services; University of Arkansas at Little Rock Institute of Economic Advancement; Arkansas Kids Count; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health; the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics; and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

The complete Natural Wonders report is available on the ACH Web site at http://www.archildrens.org/NaturalWonders. The Web site includes detailed appendices on a range of health topics and precise information about the research methods. Those interested also may call (501) 364-1574 for more information.

Arkansas Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric medical center in Arkansas and one of the largest in the United States serving children from birth to age 21. The campus spans 29 city blocks and houses 316 beds, a staff of approximately 500 physicians, 80 residents in pediatrics and pediatric specialties and more than 4,200 employees. The private, nonprofit healthcare facility boasts an internationally renowned reputation for medical breakthroughs and intensive treatments, unique surgical procedures and forward-thinking medical research - all dedicated to fulfilling our mission of enhancing, sustaining and restoring children's health and development. ACH, recently named for the third time as one of U.S. News & World Report’s best pediatric hospitals, also has ranked twice on FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®, most recently at No. 85. For more information, visit www.archildrens.org.