Promoting ecologic health resilience for minority youth: Enhancing health care access through the school health center

Ethnic minority youth experience problems in access to healthcare, yet little is known about how to enhance utilization. This article will discuss the demographic realities of children of color in the United States, with a focus on health care needs and access issues that have an enormous influence on health status. The article will consider health policy as it describes the considerable barriers to quality health care for minority youth such as a lack of a usual source of care and limited health insurance. An ecologic model is presented that incorporates cultural values and community structures into the school health center. Enhancing access and utilization through the school setting is viewed as promoting ecologic resilience in youth. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.