Survey of Unmet Medical Needs of Children in Six Counties in Florida

A SURVEY of unmet medical needs of children under 16 years old in six counties of Florida-Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson, Frank- lin, Wakulla, and Liberty-was undertaken in 1967.The study was aimed primarily at un- covering prevalent diseases and other health conditions and determining whether the affected children were receiving adequate treatment.A secondary purpose was to obtain a general de- scription of community medical services and to appraise their adequacy.As a basis for comparison, general demo- graphic data were collected from the 1960 U.S. census, official reports of the State, county health departments, public schools, and public welfare agencies.Special attention was given to medi- cal records of Head Start children in three counties participating in the Head Start pro- gram in 1966.Interviews were planned for a sample apportioned according to the child pop- ulation reported for each of the six counties in the 1960 census.On this basis, the samples from each county were 50 percent in Leon, 31 percent in Gadsden, 8 percent in Jefferson, 4.3 percent in Franklin, 4 percent in Wakulla, and 2.4 percent in Liberty.Adequacy of medical care was evaluated in