A new report shows the number of hospital admissions for diseases of poverty among the most vulnerable children continues to rise.
The Children's Social Health Monitor report has detailed hospital admissions for infectious, respiratory and other diseases in children since 2007.
The report for 2010 says admissions have grown by 4800 cases a year during the past three years.
A contributor to the report, Elizabeth Craig, says damp housing and expensive after-hours medical care is part of the problem.
Many families have to choose between paying for heating or adequate food, she says, and though the rate of increase in admissions slowed last year, poverty-related health remains a major problem.
Dr Craig says it is important to look at the reasons underlying children's illness, which is more fundamental than whether the health service is being responsive enough.
Another of those involved in the research, senior lecturer at the Universities of Auckland and Otago Dr Nikki Turner, says a factor not sufficiently taken into account in contributing to illness is the stressful environment low-income families live in.
The report also reveals the most vulnerable children are five-and-a-half times more likely to suffer abuse or neglect.
The Labour Party says the Government must make child health a priority, instead of just concentrating on hospital care.
Health spokesperson Grant Robertson says investing in children's health and early intervention will result in the best long-term health outcomes.
However, he says the current National Government is concentrating on politically-motivated health targets at the cost of primary care and public health measures.
