Preventive child health care at elementary school age: The costs of routine assessments with a triage approach

摘要

BackgroundTriage in Preventive Child Health Care (PCH) assessments could further the efficient use of human resources and budgets and therefore make extra care possible for children with specific needs. We assessed the costs of routine PCH assessments with and without triage for children aged 5/6 years and 10/11 years. In a triage approach, PCH assistants conduct pre-assessments to identify children requiring follow-up assessments by a physician or nurse. In the usual approach, all children are assessed by a physician and an assistant (children aged 5/6 years) or a nurse (children aged 10/11 years).