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Vermont Value:
Percentage of children ages 0-17 who received one or more preventive visits in the past 12 months (2-year estimate)
Vermont Rank:
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Appears In:
Percentage of children ages 0-17 who received one or more preventive visits in the past 12 months (2-year estimate)
US Value: 76.7%
Top State(s): New Hampshire: 86.9%
Bottom State(s): Nevada: 67.4%
Definition: Percentage of children ages 0-17 who received one or more preventive visits in the past 12 months (2-year estimate)
Data Source and Years(s): National Survey of Children's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), 2020-2021
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of National Survey of Children's Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all infants, toddlers and children receive routine preventive visits throughout their life, known as well-child visits. Younger children require more frequent visits due to their rapid development.
The benefits of well-child visits include:
As individuals enter adolescence, they experience a number of transitions that may require unique health care solutions and conversations. During this stage, adolescents experience rapid physical growth, changing hormones and sexual maturity. Social factors and behaviors that lead to morbidity and mortality are often initiated in adolescence, which makes it a critical time for education, prevention and early intervention.
The prevalence of having one or more preventive visits in the last year is higher among:
Further, studies have shown that children of mothers who work full time without paid vacation or are uninsured or on public insurance are less likely to have had a well-child visit in the past year.
There are several alternative methods of delivering well-baby visits that may improve access and use, including:
Additional benefits of these alternative programs include allowing physicians greater availability to care for children with complex medical problems, as well as being more cost-effective and better at serving low-income populations. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance plans must cover well-baby visits. Depending on the insurance plan, well-child checkups may be available at no cost.
When surveyed, adolescents identified more and different barriers to receiving well-child visits than their parents, and minimizing those barriers may increase their use of well-child visits. Forgetting an appointment or failing to schedule one is a common barrier and modern tools such as text message reminders can help increase primary care usage. The implementation of the Affordable Care Act resulted in a moderate increase in preventive care use by adolescents, particularly Black, Hispanic and low-income adolescents.
Increasing the proportion of adolescents who received a preventive health care visit in the past year and increasing the proportion who speak privately with a physician or other health care provider during a medical visit are Healthy People 2030 objectives.
Aalsma, Matthew C., Amy Lewis Gilbert, Shan Xiao, and Vaughn I. Rickert. “Parent and Adolescent Views on Barriers to Adolescent Preventive Health Care Utilization.” The Journal of Pediatrics 169 (February 1, 2016): 140–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2015.10.090.
Adams, Sally H., M. Jane Park, Lauren Twietmeyer, Claire D. Brindis, and Charles E. Irwin. “Association Between Adolescent Preventive Care and the Role of the Affordable Care Act.” JAMA Pediatrics 172, no. 1 (January 2018): 43–48. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.3140.
Bergman, David, Paul Plsek, and Mara Saunders. “A High-Performing System for Well-Child Care: A Vision for the Future.” The Commonwealth Fund, October 2006. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2006/oct/high-performing-system-well-child-care-vision-future.
Chi, Donald L., Elizabeth T. Momany, Michael P. Jones, Raymond A. Kuthy, Natoshia M. Askelson, George L. Wehby, and Peter C. Damiano. “An Explanatory Model of Factors Related to Well Baby Visits by Age Three Years for Medicaid-Enrolled Infants: A Retrospective Cohort Study.” BMC Pediatrics 13, no. 1 (December 2013): 158. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-13-158.
Coker, Tumaini R., Candice Moreno, Paul G. Shekelle, Mark A. Schuster, and Paul J. Chung. “Well-Child Care Clinical Practice Redesign for Serving Low-Income Children.” Pediatrics 134, no. 1 (July 1, 2014): e229–39. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-3775.
Enlow, Elizabeth, Molly Passarella, and Scott A. Lorch. “Continuity of Care in Infancy and Early Childhood Health Outcomes.” Pediatrics 140, no. 1 (July 2017): e20170339. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-0339.
Hamman, Mary Kathryn. “Making Time for Well-Baby Care: The Role of Maternal Employment.” Maternal and Child Health Journal 15, no. 7 (October 2011): 1029–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-010-0657-9.
Kipping, R.R., R.M. Campbell, G.J. MacArthur, D.J. Gunnell, and M. Hickman. “Multiple Risk Behaviour in Adolescence.” Journal of Public Health 34, no. suppl_1 (March 1, 2012): i1–2. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdr122.
O’Leary, Sean T., Michelle Lee, Steven Lockhart, Sheri Eisert, Anna Furniss, Juliana Barnard, Doron Shmueli, Shannon Stokley, L. Miriam Dickinson, and Allison Kempe. “Effectiveness and Cost of Bidirectional Text Messaging for Adolescent Vaccines and Well Care.” Pediatrics 136, no. 5 (November 2015): e1220–27. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-1089.
Wolf, Elizabeth R., Erin Donahue, Roy T. Sabo, Bergen B. Nelson, and Alex H. Krist. “Barriers to Attendance of Prenatal and Well-Child Visits.” Academic Pediatrics 21, no. 6 (August 2021): 955–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2020.11.025.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.