Pediatric Study Experiment Will End Service on May 31

After almost three years of rendering free medical care to University students' children, the Harvard Pediatric Study will bring its experiment to a close on May 31, Dr. Katherine Kichl, head of the organization, announced Monday.

Established on September 15, 1947, the group has been financed by the United States Public Health Service and Children's Bureau for the purpose of studying the "methods and costs in the provision of comprehensive medical care for young children."

Test case in Socialized Medicine

Dr. Kiohl revealed that the study had obtained the facts and figures it desires, but they will not be available for a full year after the May 31 shut-down; eventually, she thought, they would appear in book form.

All students' children under 12 years of age who live in or near Cambridge have been eligible for medical care under the project. Called by some observers a "test-case in socialized medicine," the experiment has tried to discover the types and volumes of service needed by this group of children, as well as the costs of providing such service and for group education in health practices.

Organizes Parent Group

Those registered with the study have received health appraisals and immunizations from staff physicians; when sick, they have been examined in the office, home, or hospital, according to the need. The services of a medical social worker and nurses have also been available.

Dental and obstetrical care and payment for drugs are among the services not listed by the experiment.

The project has also explored methods of "organizing the parent group for democratic participation in the general policies of the service and for group education in health practices."