Analyzing Racial Disparities in Pediatric Atopic Comorbidity Emergency Department Visitation using Electronic Health Records.

BACKGROUND: Although atopic diseases and associated co-morbidities are prevalent in children, little is known about racial differences in emergency department (ED) visitation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to examine racial differences in ED visitation among children with allergic comorbidities. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of patients (<21 years) who visited the ED at a large pediatric hospital for atopic dermatitis (AD), food allergy (FA), asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), and eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) from 2015 to 2019. We determined the probability of ED encounter-free using hazard ratios (HR) and time to recurrence (TTR) of ED encounter for patients identified as Black/African American (AA) and White/European American (EA). We assessed potentially underlying allergic, demographic, and place-based factors, and potential interactions between factors. RESULTS: A total of 30,894 patients (38% AA, 62% EA) had 83,078 ED encounters (38,378 first ED encounters, and 44,700 recurrent ED encounters) during the study period. Asthma and AR showed the highest rate of comorbidity in ED encounters in both AA and EA children. AA children exhibited higher HR for encounter following index AD and asthma encounters. We found an interaction between the type of insurance and race in ED encounters for AD, FA, AR, and EoE. In AA children, those insured by Medicaid demonstrated a higher HR for any encounter compared to those with commercial insurance. Conversely, in EA children, those with Medicaid insurance showed a lower HR compared to their commercially insured peers. Regardless of race, allergic comorbidity increased the HR of ED encounter (1.12-1.62) for all allergic diseases. At 5-years follow up, mean differences in TTR were shorter in AA children compared to EA children in AD, FA, and asthma. CONCLUSION: Identification of disease-specific racial disparities in ED visitation related to atopic diseases is a necessary first step toward the design and implementation of interventions capable of equitably reducing emergency care in atopic comorbid children.

An Institutional Approach to Equity and Improvement in Child Health Outcomes.

Pediatric health inequities are pervasive. Approaches by health care institutions to address inequities often, and increasingly, focus on social needs screening without linked, robust responses. Even when actions in pursuit of health equity do occur within health care institutions, efforts occur in isolation from each other, standing in the way of cross-learning and innovation. Learning network methods hold promise when institutions are confronted with complex, multidimensional challenges. Equity-oriented learning networks may therefore accelerate action to address complex factors that contribute to inequitable pediatric health outcomes, enabling rapid learning along the way. We established an institutional Health Equity Network (HEN) in pursuit of excellent and equitable health outcomes for children and adolescents in our region. The HEN supports action teams seeking to eliminate pediatric health inequities in their clinical settings. Teams deploy targeted interventions to meet patients' and families' needs, addressing both medical and social factors affecting health and wellbeing. The primary, shared HEN measure is the equity gap in hospitalization rates between Black patients and all other patients. The HEN currently has 10 action teams and promotes rapid learning and scaling of interventions via monthly "action period calls" and "solutions labs" focused on successes, challenges, and potential common solutions (eg, scaling of existing medical-legal partnership to subspecialty clinics). In this Advocacy Case Study, we detail the design, implementation, and early outcomes from the HEN, our equity-oriented learning network.

Pediatric Health and System Impacts of Mass Incarceration, 2009-2020: A Matched Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world; incarceration's direct and indirect toll on the health and health care use of youth is rarely investigated. We sought to compare the health of youth with known personal or family justice involvement and a matched cohort of youth without known personal/family justice involvement. METHODS: A cross-sectional matched parallel cohort study was conducted. We queried electronic health records on youth (<21 years) with a visit in a large Midwestern pediatric hospital-based institution from January 2009 to December 2020. Youth were located by searching for justice-related (eg, prison, jail) keywords within all clinician notes. Health diagnostic profiles were measured using ICD 9/10 codes. Health care use included total admissions, inpatient days, emergent and urgent visits, and outpatient visits. RESULTS: Across all youth at one institution over an 11-year period, 2.2% (N = 38,263) were identified as having probable personal or family justice-involvement. Youth with personal or familial justice involvement had 1.5-16.2 times the prevalence of mental health and physical health diagnoses across all domain groupings compared to a matched sample and the total population sample. From 2009-2020, approximately two-thirds of behavioral health care and nearly a quarter of all hospital inpatient days were attributed to the 2.2% of youth with probable personal or familial justice system involvement. CONCLUSION: The study illuminates the vast disparities between youth with indirect or direct contact with the criminal legal system and matched youth with no documented contact. Better investment in monitoring and prevention efforts are needed.

A Road Map for Population Health and Health Equity Research.

This Viewpoint discusses the 4P's Road Map for population health and health equity research.

Early Correlates of School Readiness Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Linking Health and School Data.

Importance: Many known correlates of kindergarten readiness are captured in developmental and social screenings in primary care; little is known about how primary care data predicts school readiness. Objective: To identify early Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) correlates by linking electronic health record (EHR) data with school district KRA data and to examine potential outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic using KRA scores between 2018 and 2021. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a retrospective cohort study linking a large primary care practice (PCP) with school assessment data. Linkage used patient name, date of birth, and address. The setting was an urban school district and PCP affiliated with an academic medical center. Students had a KRA score from fall of 2018, 2019, or 2021 (no 2020 KRA due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and at least 1 prior well-child visit at the PCP. Exposures: Exposures included year KRA administered, reported child race and ethnicity, child sex, interpreter for medical visits, child ever failed Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) 18 to 54 months, ever rarely read to, Medicaid status, food insecurity, housing insecurity, problems with benefits, and caregiver depressive symptoms. Main Outcomes and Measures: KRA score (continuous), with a possible range of 0 to 300 (passing score = 270). Results: A total of 3204 PCP patients (mean [SD] age, 67 [4] months; 1612 male [50.3%]; 2642 Black [82.5%]; 94 Hispanic [2.9%]; 244 White [7.6%]) were matched to their KRA score. Mean (SD) KRA scores were significantly lower in 2021 (mean [SD], 260.0 [13.0]; 214 of 998 [21.4%]) compared with 2019 (mean [SD], 262.7 [13.5]; 317 of 1114 [28.5%]) and 2018 (mean [SD], 263.5 [13.6]; 351 of 1092 [32.1%]), a pattern mirrored in the larger school district. In the linear regression final model (n = 2883), the following binary variables significantly lowered the child's KRA score (points lowered [95% CI]) below a mean passing score of 270.8: child ever failed ASQ after 18 months (-6.7; 95% CI, -7.7 to -5.6), Medicaid insured (-5.7; 95% CI, -9.0 to -2.3), Hispanic ethnicity (-3.8; 95% CI, -6.9 to -0.6), requires interpreter (-3.6; 95% CI, -7.1 to -0.1), 2021 year (-3.5; 95% CI, -4.7 to -2.3), male sex (-2.7; 95% CI, -3.7 to -1.8), ever rarely read to (-1.5; 95% CI, -2.6 to -0.4), and food insecurity (-1.2; 95% CI, -2.4 to -0.1). Race, caregiver depression, housing insecurity, and problems receiving benefits were not associated with KRA scores in final model. Conclusions and Relevance: Findings of this cohort study suggest a deleterious association of the COVID-19 pandemic with early learning and development. There may be potential for PCPs and school districts to collaborate to identify and mitigate risks much earlier.

Household Health-Related Social Needs in Newborns and Infant Behavioral Functioning at 6 Months.

Importance: Dysfunctional patterns of behavior during infancy can predict the emergence of mental health disorders later in childhood. The Baby Pediatric Symptom Checklist (BPSC) can identify indicators of behavioral disorders among children aged 0 to 18 months. Understanding the association of early health-related social needs (HRSNs) with poor infant behavioral functioning can inform interventions to promote early childhood mental well-being. Objective: To examine the association between household HRSNs in the first 4 months of life and BPSC results at 6 months. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a retrospective cohort analysis of longitudinal electronic health record data. Covariates were selected based on the biopsychosocial ecological model. Logistic regression analyses examined the association of HRSN domains and the number of HRSNs with the 6-month BPSC outcomes. Participants were recruited from 6 primary care clinics within 1 health system. Children aged 5 to 8 months who were evaluated for 6-month well-child visits between March 30, 2021, and June 30, 2022, were included in the study. Exposure: Responses to the first HRSN screening tool that a caregiver completed for infants between 0 and 4 months of age. HRSN domains were examined individually and as the number of positive HRSNs. Main Outcome and Measures: BPSC screen identified for clinical review due to 1 or more elevated subscales (inflexibility, irritability, and difficulty with routines) at 6 months. Results: A total of 1541 children (mean [SD] age, 6.1 [0.5] months; 775 female [50.3%]) were included in the study. A total of 405 children (26.3%) had a BPSC screen identified for clinical review, and 328 caregivers (21.3%) reported at least 1 HRSN. Food insecurity (174 [11.3%]) and benefits issues (169 [11.0%]) were the most frequently reported HRSN. Children in households with food insecurity had statistically significant higher odds of inflexibility (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.73; 95% CI, 1.14-2.63), difficulty with routines (aOR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.05-2.57), and irritability (aOR, 1.86; 95% CI, 1.13-3.08) than children in households without food insecurity. Children in households with benefits issues had statistically significant higher odds of difficulty with routines (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.10-2.65) and irritability (aOR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.03-2.82). Children in households with 2 or more HRSNs had consistently higher odds of having a BPSC screen identified for clinical review (aOR, 2.16; 95% CI, 1.38-3.39) compared with children with no HRSNs. Conclusions and Relevance: Results of this cohort study suggest that household food insecurity, benefits issues, and the number of HRSNs were significantly associated with a BPSC screen identified for clinical review at 6 months of age. These findings highlight the urgency of intervening on HRSNs in the newborn period to prevent adverse infant behavioral outcomes.

Addressing Health-Related Social Needs and Mental Health Needs in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Exploring Challenges and the Potential of Technology.

Unaddressed health-related social needs (HRSNs) and parental mental health needs in an infant's environment can negatively affect their health outcomes. This study examines the challenges and potential technological solutions for addressing these needs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) setting and beyond. In all, 22 semistructured interviews were conducted with members of the NICU care team and other relevant stakeholders, based on an interpretive description approach. The participants were selected from three safety net hospitals in the U.S. with level IV NICUs. The challenges identified include navigating the multitude of burdens families in the NICU experience, resource constraints within and beyond the health system, a lack of streamlined or consistent processes, no closed-loop referrals to track status and outcomes, and gaps in support postdischarge. Opportunities for leveraging technology to facilitate screening and referral include automating screening, initiating risk-based referrals, using remote check-ins, facilitating resource navigation, tracking referrals, and providing language support. However, technological implementations should avoid perpetuating disparities and consider potential privacy or data-sharing concerns. Although advances in technological health tools alone cannot address all the challenges, they have the potential to offer dynamic tools to support the healthcare setting in identifying and addressing the unique needs and circumstances of each family in the NICU.

A Data-Driven Approach to Optimizing Medical-Legal Partnership Performance and Joint Advocacy.

Medical-legal partnerships connect legal advocates to healthcare providers and settings. Maintaining effectiveness of medical-legal partnerships and consistently identifying opportunities for innovation and adaptation takes intentionality and effort. In this paper, we discuss ways in which our use of data and quality improvement methods have facilitated advocacy at both patient (client) and population levels as we collectively pursue better, more equitable outcomes.