Graduation Year

2022

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biology

Reader 1

Marion Preest

Reader 2

Deborah Freund

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

@ 2022 Clio A Bazakas

Abstract

Schools stand out as opportune sites for health interventions because their infrastructure allows for large-scale implementation of health services and prevention efforts that reach the majority of youth and can extend to family members. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are physically located within or nearby schools and provide access to primary health care and preventative health care services to predominantly under-resourced and medically underserved populations of children and adolescents. They are designed to mitigate various access barriers and act as a crucial safety-net health care delivery model for youth populations that are uninsured, underinsured, or are part of populations that don’t have regular access to health care. This proposed longitudinal study aims to assess the impact of SBHCs on health disparities in youth populations in California indicated by the receipt of preventative and diagnostic health services and self-rated health over a two-year period (2022-2024). The utilization of well-child visits, vaccination, reproductive health, dental health, and mental health services will be compared between students in 32 schools with SBHCs and 32 matched comparison schools. Percentage of students who had one or more emergency room (ER) visit and hospitalization annually will also be measured. Self-rated health indicated by Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) measured by annual PedsQL 4.0 surveys will be used to assess the impact of SBHCs on self-perceptions of health and wellbeing. Since SBHCs increase access to healthcare for medically underserved youth, the presence of SBHCs is predicted to increase the use of all five primary care services measured and coincide with a decrease in ER visits and hospitalizations. Additionally, expected results include an increase in average HRQOL scores over time for SBHC schools compared to control schools. These expected results would indicate a reduction in health disparities by increasing preventative health service utilization and self-rated health, which are lower in medically underserved youth.

Download

This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

Share

COinS