To assess whether the Child Adjusted Care Need Index for Child Healthcare Centres reflected any significant alterations between 2022 and 2024.
Approach:
Data Collection: Child Adjusted Care Need Index scores were obtained from the Swedish Child Health Services register for 1018 centres in 2022 and 1049 centres in 2024, with a total of 937 centres included after excluding those with fewer than 50 enrolled children or lacking data.
Analysis Method: A threshold of greater than 0.2 difference in Index value was established to discern changes impacting clinical practice or resource distribution.
Category Evaluation: The healthcare centres were evaluated based on the four categories outlined by Wennergren et al. 2025 to assess transitions between categories.
Key Findings:
88% of Child Healthcare Centres maintained the same Child Adjusted Care Need Index Category classification.
79% of instances showed no change in Index value exceeding 0.2.
92% of centres in the lowest Index value group remained in the same group in 2024.
Only 3.8% of centres experienced both a significant change in Index value and a group transition.
Interpretation:
The stability of the Index values suggests that it can reliably assess sociodemographic contexts within Swedish Child Health Services.
Limitations:
Data on resource allocation was not acquired, limiting the assessment of implications from Index modifications.
The study could not evaluate the effectiveness of the Index in assessing the sociodemographic influence on children's health.
Conclusion:
The Child Adjusted Care Need Index demonstrated stability over time, indicating its potential utility in child health research.
