One-third of children ages four months to 35 months in the United States receive inadequate preventive care, according to a study in the December issue of Pediatrics, the Washington Post reports. For the study, researchers analyzed data for 2,041 children participating in the 2000 National Survey of Early Childhood Health. The survey asked the participants' primary caregivers to rate their children's preventive care as "excellent," "good," "fair" or "poor." According to the survey, about 66% of children received excellent or good preventive care, while 34% received fair or poor care. On average, doctors spent about 18 minutes with the caregivers of children who received excellent or good care, compared with 12 minutes for those who received fair or poor care, lead author Barry Zuckerman, chief of pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, said. The study determined that race, ethnicity, income and health coverage did not factor into the level of care the children received, the Post reports (Washington Post, 12/7). Zuckerman said, "I think, frankly, [providers] are not doing the kind of job they should be doing" (Caywood, Boston Herald, 12/6).

The study is available online.