Pediatric Hospitalization Patterns for Selected Chronic Health Conditions Using Hospital Abstract Reporting System Data: Methods and Findings

Children with chronic health conditions require more health services than other children and are vulnerable to potential problems of access and appropriateness of care due to rapid changes in the health care system. Methods to measure hospitalization patterns of children for chronic health conditions, a measure of access and utilization, are not well-developed. The objective of this study is to identify hospitalization patterns of children with eight selected chronic health conditions, using hospital abstract reporting system data from Washington state for the ten year period 1987–1996. The methods illustrate an approach to using hospital discharge data for ongoing surveillance of children with special health care needs.