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Abstract
Objective: To examine differences in factors related to health care utilization (HCU) among children diagnosed with Noncardiac Chest Pain (NCCP) or Innocent Heart Murmur (IHM). Method: Sixty-seven pediatric patients with NCCP and sixty-two with IHM and their parent/guardian completed paper-and-pencil measures of psychosocial functioning and HCU during an initial visit to the cardiologists office. Results: Children with NCCP utilize significantly more health care services compared to their IHM counterparts. Several child and parent psychological factors were related to HCU for the NCCP group only. Discussion: Results identify possible child and parent psychological factors that may be the focus of interventions to reduce high rates of HCU among children with NCCP.