Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Data: Linked Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (collected 2008-2010) and National Health Interview Survey (collected 2007-2008) data.

Study Design: This cross-sectional study examines whether paid sick leave and work intensity are associated with receipt of recommended well-child visits, general dental exams, preventive dental care, influenza vaccines, obesity screening, and vision screening among US children aged 0 to 17 years whose mothers are employed. Residual inclusion instrumental variables (IV) methods were used to address unobserved confounding related to maternal employment and child health care use.

Principal Findings: Fewer than half of all US children received the recommended number of well-child visits and dental care; only 14% of children received an influenza vaccine in the past year. Paid sick leave was associated with increased compliance with recommended well-child visits (marginal probability: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.23), dental exams (marginal probability: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.47), preventive dental care (marginal probability: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.50), and receipt of the influenza vaccine (marginal probability: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.27).

Conclusions: Policies to assure maternal paid sick leave may improve rates of receipt of recommended pediatric preventive care.