Improving the health of looked after children in Scotland: 1. Using a specialist nursing service to improve the health care of children in residential accommodation.

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Improving the health of looked after children in Scotland: 1. Using a specialist nursing service to improve the health care of children in residential accommodation.

Introduction

It is recognised that children in residential care suffer from poor health outcomes both in absolute terms and relative to others (Saunders and Broad, 1997; Hill and Watkins, 2002; Philpot, 2004). Although the circumstances that have resulted in these children being cared for by local authorities are likely to be the main driver of these inequalities, it is also the case that they access health services at a disproportionately low rate compared to their health needs (Bundle, 2001; Williams et al, 2001; Hill and Watkins, 2002; Philpot, 2004). One potential route to improve the health outcomes of this group is to enhance the accessibility and quality of services provided for them (Meltzer, 2000; Hill and Watkins, 2002). This study was an attempt to investigate whether the introduction of a specialist nursing service could help meet the un...

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