The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-Wide Cohort.

The Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)-Wide Cohort Study (EWC), a collaborative research design comprising 69 cohorts in 31 consortia, was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2016 to improve children's health in the United States. The EWC harmonizes extant data and collects new data using a standardized protocol, the ECHO-Wide Cohort Data Collection Protocol (EWCP). EWCP visits occur at least once per life stage, but the frequency and timing of the visits vary across cohorts. As of March 4, 2022, the EWC cohorts contributed data from 60,553 children and consented 29,622 children for new EWCP data and biospecimen collection. The median (interquartile range) age of EWCP-enrolled children was 7.5 years (3.7-11.1). Surveys, interviews, standardized examinations, laboratory analyses, and medical record abstraction are used to obtain information in 5 main outcome areas: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes; neurodevelopment; obesity; airways; and positive health. Exposures include factors at the level of place (e.g., air pollution, neighborhood socioeconomic status), family (e.g., parental mental health), and individuals (e.g., diet, genomics).

The Effect of a Primary Care Provider Incentive Program on Pediatric Emergency Medicine Visits.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of a financial incentive program targeting primary care providers (PCPs) with the goal of decreasing emergency department (ED) utilization. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort analysis in a single health maintenance organization comparing ED visit/1000 member-months before and after the physician incentive program in 2009. We compared the median ED visit rate between physicians who did (PIP) and did not participate (non-PIP) from 2009 to 2012. We used 2008 data as a baseline study period to compare the ED visit rate between PIP and non-PIP providers to detect any inherent difference between the 2 groups. RESULTS: A total of 1376 PCPs were enrolled. A total of US $18,290,817 was spent in total on incentives. Overall, the median ED visit rate for all providers was statistically significantly lower during the study period (baseline period, study period: 56.36 ED visits/1000 member-months vs 45.82, respectively, P < 0.001). During the baseline period in our fully adjusted linear regression for degree, specialty, education, and board status, PIP versus non-PIP visits were not statistically significantly different (P = 0.17). During the study period in our fully adjusted model, we found that PIP had statistically significant fewer ED visits compared with non-PIP (P = 0.02). In a subgroup analysis of providers who did and did not receive an incentive payment, in the fully adjusted linear regression, providers who received any payment had statistically significant fewer ED visits/1000 member-months (P < 0.001). In addition, we found in the fully adjusted analysis that those providers who received at least 1 incentive payment for meeting after-hours criteria had statistically significantly fewer ED visits/1000 member-months (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A financial incentive program to provide PCPs with specific targets and goals to decrease pediatric ED utilization can decrease ED visits.

A Survey of School Nurse Emergency Preparedness 2014-2015.

Well-prepared school nurses are more likely to handle emergencies properly. Thus, assessing crisis management preparedness is important. In August 2014, a questionnaire was sent to 275 nurses in a large Texas school system to collect data about nurse and school characteristics, emergency frequency and management, and equipment availability. Completed surveys (201, 73%) were analyzed. Fisher's exact test was used to evaluate comparisons among nurses' confidence levels, school characteristics, emergencies, and medical emergency response plans (MERP). Logistic regression was used to estimate associations between characteristics and nurses reporting less confidence. Most respondents were experienced nurses. Shortness of breath was the most common event faced. Odds of less confidence were significantly higher among nurses with <5 years' experience, working at elementary schools, schools without a MERP or where it was not practiced, or caring for <10 schoolchildren weekly. Overall, recommended emergency management guidelines were met.

Perceptions Revisited: Pediatric Chief Resident views on Minority Housestaff Recruitment and Retention in Pediatric Residency Programs.

PURPOSE: This study examined institutional strategies among pediatric residency programs for recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities (URM) housestaff. PROCEDURES: A questionnaire developed by the authors in a 1992 study was modified and then mailed to 185 pediatric chief residents at non-military pediatric training programs in the United States. Descriptive statistics (means and frequency) were calculated for each question. There were three rounds of mailings and a telephone follow-up. MAIN FINDING: The response rate was 39% (n=73). Thirty-eight percent reported that URM housestaff recruitment and retention was a priority for their program directors, 37% reported that it was a priority for themselves, 25% reported it was a priority for the hospital administration, and 36% reported that they were not sure about the priority of URM housestaff recruitment and retention within their organization. Sixty-seven percent stated that their housestaff selection committees do not have defined recruitment goals, 6% indicated that their committees have specifically defined recruitment goals, and 27% were not sure. CONCLUSIONS: Despite numerous initiatives from government agencies, medical institutions, and institutions of higher education, a critical gap remains among institutions in their recruitment efforts for URM at the level of residency training. Our study suggests that pediatric chief residents may not be adequately educated or primed regarding the importance of recruitment and retention of URM. As individuals involved with both medical training and hospital hierarchy, they are uniquely positioned to influence and carry out program goals and objectives.

Principles of Child Health Care Financing.

The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that the United States can and should ensure that all children, adolescents, and young adults from birth through the age of 26 years who reside within its borders have affordable access to high-quality comprehensive health care. Comprehensive, high-quality care addresses issues, challenges, and opportunities unique to children and young adults and addresses the effects of historic and present inequities. All families should have equitable access to professionals and facilities with expertise in the care of children within a reasonable distance of their residence. Payment methodologies should be structured to guarantee the economic viability of the pediatric medical home and of pediatric specialty and subspecialty practices. The recent increase in child uninsurance over the last several years is a threat to the well-being of children and families in the short- and long-term. Deficiencies in plans currently covering insured children pose similar threats. The AAP believes that the United States must not sacrifice recent hard-won gains for our children and that child health care financing should be based on the following guiding principles: (1) coverage with quality, affordable health insurance should be universal; (2) comprehensive pediatric services should be covered; (3) cost sharing should be affordable and should not negatively affect care; (4) payment should be adequate to strengthen family- and patient-centered medical homes; (5) child health financing policy should promote equity and address longstanding health and health care disparities; and (6) the unique characteristics and needs of children should be reflected.

Population Health in Pediatric Primary Care as a Means to Achieving Child Health Equity.

We propose population health as a model of care to advance efforts to achieve child health equity. We use the structure-process-outcome framework to highlight key structures of pediatric population health necessary to catalyze what has been slow progress to date. Using specific ongoing examples, we then show how different models of integrated health care delivery systems align population health structures to enable processes aimed to achieve child health equity. We conclude by highlighting the critical role of committed leadership to drive progress.

Developing a clinical research infrastructure embedded in an academic medicine center that equitably supports future clinician scientists.

Clinical research in academic medical centers can be difficult to conduct and meet enrollment goals. Students under-represented in medicine (URiM) are also under-represented in academic leadership positions and as physician-scientists but are critical to help solve health disparities. Barriers in pursuing medicine as a career may be high for URiM students, therefore it is important to create pre-medicine opportunities accessible to all students interested in healthcare careers. We describe an undergraduate clinical research platform, the Academic Associate (AcA) program, embedded in the medical system that supports clinical research for academic physician scientists and provides students equitable access to experiences and mentoring opportunities. Students have the opportunity of completing a Pediatric Clinical Research Minor (PCRM) degree. This program satisfies many pre-medicine opportunities for undergraduate students, including those URiM, and allows access to physician mentors and unique educational experiences for graduate school or employment. Since 2009, 820 students participated in the AcA program (17.5% URiM) and 235 students (18% URiM) completed the PCRM. Of the 820 students, 126 (10% URiM) students matriculated to medical school, 128 (11%URiM) to graduate school, and 85 (16.5% URiM) gained employment in biomedical research fields. Students in our program supported 57 publications and were top-enrollers for several multicentered studies. The AcA program is cost-effective and achieves a high level of success enrolling patients into clinical research. Additionally, the AcA program provides equitable access for students URiM to physician mentorship, pre-medical experiences, and an avenue to early immersion in academic medicine.

Considerations in the Determination of Medical Necessity in Children: Application to Contractual Language.

Through this policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics advocates that all health care insurers adopt consistent medical necessity definitions that reflect the needs of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults (hereafter noted as "children") as a function of developmental, epidemiologic, dependency, demographic, and cost-related factors that change over the pediatric continuum and that differ from adults. Optimally, the scope of benefits defined in health care contracts should address the complete spectrum of health care needs of children and families, but in reality, many plans offer a limited scope of benefits for children. Even if a proposed intervention falls within the scope of benefits or is not specifically excluded from coverage, the health plan may still deny the intervention. In such cases, contractual language may allow an appeal to succeed if the provider demonstrates medical necessity. With the assistance of experienced pediatric physicians and other providers with pediatric expertise, health care payers and agencies should clearly detail the processes that define, evaluate, and determine medical necessity and through which providers may appeal decisions. A basic requirement for any medical necessity process is the consideration of input from the physician(s) caring for a pediatric patient for whom a medical necessity determination is necessary.

Influences of Chronic Physical and Mental Health Conditions on Child and Adolescent Positive Health.

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric positive health refers to children's assessments of their well-being. The purpose of this study was to contrast positive health for children aged 8 to 17 years with and without chronic physical and mental health conditions. METHODS: Data were drawn from the National Institutes of Health Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) research program. Participants included 1764 children ages 8 to 17 years from 13 ECHO cohorts. We measured positive health using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Global Health and Life Satisfaction patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. We used multiple regression to examine cross-sectional associations between the PROs and parent-reported health conditions and sociodemographic variables. We defined a meaningful difference in average scores as a PROMIS T-score difference of >3. RESULTS: The sample included 45% 13 to 17-year-olds, 50% females, 8% Latinx, and 23% Black/African-American. Fifty-four percent had a chronic health condition. Of the 16 chronic conditions included in the study, only chronic pain (ß = -3.5; 95% CI: -5.2 to -1.9) and depression (ß = -6.6; 95% CI: -8.5 to -4.6) were associated with scoring >3 points lower on global health. Only depression was associated with >3 points lower on life satisfaction (ß = -6.2; 95% CI: -8.1 to -4.3). Among those with depression, 95% also had another chronic condition. CONCLUSIONS: Many children with chronic conditions have similar levels of positive health as counterparts without chronic conditions. The study results suggest that negative associations between chronic conditions and positive health may be primarily attributable to presence or co-occurrence of depression.

Predictors of direct costs of diabetes care in pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines factors that predict elevated direct costs of pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: A cohort of 784 children with type 1 diabetes at least 6 months postdiagnosis and managed by pediatric endocrinologists at Texas Children's Hospital were included in this study. Actual reimbursed costs from January 2004 to December 2005 were obtained. Medication and supply costs were based on estimates from insulin dosage and type of insulin regimen prescribed, respectively. We examined utilization of care, total diabetes-related direct medical costs, and predictors of direct costs and hospitalization. RESULTS: Annually, 7% (58/784) of patients (excluding initial hospitalization at diagnosis) had a diabetes-related hospitalization and median length of stay was days. Mean total diabetes-related direct cost per person-year was $4730 [95% confidence interval (CI), 4516-4944]. Supplies accounted for 38% and medications 33% of costs, respectively. Older age, hemoglobin A(1C) (HbA(1C) ) > 8.5%, use of a multi-injection or pump regimen, living in a non-married household, and female gender were associated with higher annual costs. HbA(1C) > 8.5%, living in a non-married household, and female gender increased the odds of a diabetes-related hospitalization. DISCUSSION: Better metabolic control in patients with type 1 diabetes was associated with lower direct medical costs and lower odds of hospitalization. Marital status of the primary caregiver, irrespective of type of insurance, impacts the patient's healthcare costs and risk of hospitalization. This large single-center US study analyzes cost distribution in children with diabetes and is informative for payers and providers focused on effective management and improving healthcare costs.

Pediatric inpatient hospital care.

Pediatrics is a field of medical specialty that focuses on children and their potential to successfully grow and develop into healthy adults. The articles in this special edition of Hospital Practice span a range of issues that affect children and their health care in the inpatient hospital setting, including equity and bias mitigation in health care, efficiency in patient rounding, using patient and family complaints to drive improvement efforts, the diagnostic process and avoiding fundamental diagnostic errors, pediatric palliative care, rapidly identifying and treating sepsis in children, the care and management of children on home ventilation, instituting a rapid response team in the pediatric environment, and quality rating systems for children's hospitals.

An ethnographic study of attending rounds in general paediatrics: understanding the ritual.

OBJECTIVES: Teaching at the bedside during attending rounds is considered to be fundamental to medical education. We conducted an ethnographic case study to investigate such teaching in general paediatrics as a social phenomenon and to explore change over time in both the meaning of rounds and the context in which rounds take place. METHODS: We conducted a case study from January to August 2006 on a 22-bed general paediatric unit in an urban children's hospital and focused our observation on interns, senior residents and attending physicians. We observed the medical team during its normal activities on the study unit and conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of attendings, interns and senior residents. We compiled a list of codes that emerged from patterns in the data and constructed a rich description of rounds according to the principles of inductive analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the data: (i) attending rounds are a pervasive and routine part of clinical education; (ii) interns, senior residents and attending physicians hold assumptions about what should happen on rounds; (iii) tension exists between interns', senior residents' and attending physicians' assumptions about bedside teaching during rounds and the reality imposed by contextual factors, and (iv) bedside teaching during rounds is impacted, but not prohibited, by contextual factors. CONCLUSIONS: Our case study provides evidence that bedside teaching during rounds is a pedagogical ideal entrenched in medical education. Participants readily acknowledged teaching at the bedside during rounds as something they perceived should happen, although, in actuality, it was infrequently achieved. This study revealed a telling inconsistency in language and behaviour: 'bedside rounds' was embedded in the participants' ordinary language, but the activity was not necessarily part of their ordinary behaviour. We propose that the practice of bedside teaching is best explained as a ritual. Considering bedside teaching as a ritual helps to explain why rounds are sacrosanct and helps to develop more appropriate expectations for rounds.

A longitudinal view of resident education in pediatric emergency interhospital transport.

OBJECTIVES: : The focus was to examine the educational structure and curricular planning involved in current pediatric emergency interhospital transport teams that use resident physicians as members of the team and to compare these current results with the findings from 2 previous, similar surveys complete during the past 2 decades. METHODS: : A 33-item questionnaire, assessing curricular components of the transport experience, was sent to a chief resident at all the officially listed nonmilitary pediatric residency program in contiguous United States. Comparisons were done for each similar item on all 3 questionnaires. RESULTS: : After 3 rounds of mailing and telephone follow-up to nonresponders, the overall response rates for the 2006 and 1998 surveys were 81% (n = 156) and 89% (n = 173), respectively. A similar survey on a smaller sample, published in 1990, used for comparison, had a response rate of 99% (n = 75). When asked about training provided to residents before going on transport, respondents varied in the specific experiences and skills required of the residents. In addition, programs reported variation in team backup during the pediatric emergency transport. The most common method of evaluation for the resident on completion of the transport was "no specific method" as reported by 62% of respondents in 2006 compared with 50% in 1998 and 55% in 1990 (P = not significant). The percentage of programs providing informal verbal feedback was reduced significantly in 2006 as compared with that in 1998 (P = 0.011). CONCLUSIONS: : The educational structure for residents serving in pediatric emergency interhospital transport teams remains variable, and the full educational value of pediatric transports continues to be somewhat unrealized particularly in the area of posttransport performance feedback and evaluation. Having medical command available has consistently been a strong point of the residents' experience on the transport team.

Healthcare utilization and expenditures for low income children with sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND: While multiple studies have examined the healthcare burden of sickle cell disease (SCD) in adults, few have specifically focused on healthcare utilization and expenditures in children. The objective of this study was to characterize the healthcare utilization and costs associated with the care of low-income children with SCD in comparison to other children of similar socioeconomic status. PROCEDURE: For the study period, 2004-2007, we conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional descriptive analysis of administrative claims data from a managed care plan exclusively serving low-income children with Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP). Patient demographics, continuity of insurance coverage, healthcare utilization, and expenditures were collected for all children enrolled with SCD and the general population within the health plan for comparison. RESULTS: On average, 27% of members with SCD required inpatient hospitalization and 39% utilized emergency care in a given calendar year. Both values were significantly higher than those of the general health plan population (P < 0.0001). Across the study period, 63% of members with SCD averaged one well child check per year and 10% had a minimum of one outpatient visit per year to a hematologist for comprehensive specialty care. CONCLUSIONS: Low-income children with SCD demonstrate significantly higher healthcare utilization for inpatient care, emergency center care, and home health care compared to children with similar socio-demographic characteristics. A substantial proportion of children with SCD may fail to meet minimum guidelines for outpatient primary and hematology comprehensive care.

Addressing Pain With Inpatient Integrative Medicine at a Large Children's Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric integrative medicine (IM) includes the use of therapies not considered mainstream to help alleviate symptoms such as pain and anxiety. These therapies can be provided in the inpatient setting. METHODS: This 10-week study involved the integration of acupuncture, biofeedback, clinical hypnotherapy, guided imagery, meditation, and music therapy to address pain in children admitted to a large US children's hospital. RESULTS: Of 51 patients enrolled, 60% of the patients, 66% of their mothers, and 56% of their fathers used CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) in the preceding 1 year. Although 51 families requested integrative therapies, only 18 patients received them because of inadequate provider availability. All recorded pain scores improved with integrative therapies. One parent reported a possible side effect of irritability in the child after clinical hypnotherapy while 5 children reported opiate side effects. All participating families interviewed responded that IM services helped their child's pain and helped their child's mood, and that our hospital should have a permanent IM consult service. CONCLUSION: Integrative therapies can be helpful to address pain without significant side effects. Further studies are needed to investigate the integration, cost, and cost-effectiveness of integrative therapies in pediatric hospitals.

Understanding paediatric resident-continuity preceptor relationships through the lens of apprenticeship learning.

CONTEXT: Apprenticeship learning is common in medical education, but is often situated in theoretical frameworks which highlight its cognitive but not its social dimension. METHODS: We conducted an ethnographic case study of paediatric residents' learning relationships with their preceptors in a community-based paediatric continuity site. It included 5 months (100 hours) of direct observation, and semi-structured interviews with 10 residents (before and after observation) and 10 primary care paediatricians who served as their continuity preceptors (after observation). Interview transcripts and notes from observations were inductively coded and analysed for major themes. RESULTS: Our observations and reports of resident learning trajectories fit well with the concept of legitimate peripheral participation. Residents learned the everyday practice of primary care as they worked alongside experienced paediatricians in the continuity clinic. Although the direction of learning was towards central participation in patient care, residents learned during transient shifts to the periphery of practice. As a function of residents' increased participation, preceptors moved into more supportive roles. Residents were not only learners; at times they were teachers who facilitated preceptors' learning. CONCLUSIONS: Legitimate peripheral participation is a concept that helps to explain apprenticeship as a dynamic social relationship which shapes, and is shaped by, learning that takes place in clinical practice. Other concepts shed light on the bidirectional nature of apprenticeship learning.

Learning about systems-based practice in the informal curriculum: a case study in an academic pediatric continuity clinic.

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric residents learn about systems-based practice (SBP) explicitly in the formal curriculum and implicitly in the informal curriculum as they engage in practice alongside physician faculty. Recent studies describe innovative ways to address SBP in the formal curriculum for SBP, but the informal curriculum has not been explored. We examined what, and how, third-year pediatric residents learn about SBP in the informal curriculum at one continuity clinic, and to consider how this learning aligns with the formal curriculum. METHODS: A case study involving 10 third-year pediatric residents and 10 continuity preceptors was conducted at one continuity clinic, housed in a community-based, pediatric primary care center. Data were derived from 5 months (100 hours) of direct observation in the precepting room at the case clinic, semistructured interviews with residents (before and after observation) and with preceptors (after observation). Interview transcripts and notes from observation were inductively coded and analyzed for major themes. RESULTS: Two themes emerged in the informal curriculum. Residents perceived "our system," the academic health system in which they trained and practiced as separate and distinct from the "real system," the larger, societal context of health care. Residents also understood SBP as a commitment to helping individual patients and families navigate the complexities of "our system," dealing with issues that concerned them. CONCLUSIONS: Residents learn important lessons about SBP in the informal curriculum in continuity clinic. These lessons may reinforce some elements of the competency-based formal curriculum for SBP, but challenge others.

Learning behind the scenes: perceptions and observations of role modeling in pediatric residents' continuity experience.

OBJECTIVE: Little is known about what residents learn from "everyday" physician role models, who, in the course of their ordinary work, serve as real-life examples of residents' future roles. The purpose of this research was to analyze what and how pediatric residents learn through role modeling during their continuity experience. DESIGN: We conducted a case study of 10 third-year pediatric residents and their 10 continuity clinic preceptors (CCP) in a community-based continuity clinic. Data were derived from 5 months (100 hours) of direct observation in clinic; semistructured interviews with residents before and after observation; and semistructured interviews with CCPs after resident data were collected. Interview transcripts and notes from observation were inductively coded and thematically analyzed. RESULTS: From the residents' perspective, role modeling was an implicit and intentional learning strategy that was linked to routine clinical practice in continuity clinic. Residents learned, through modeling their CCPs, "how to talk" and "how to think things through." Residents did not directly report modeling professional behavior. For residents, learning through modeling was not contingent on CCPs' awareness of being a role model. CONCLUSIONS: Role modeling is a nuanced, deliberate learning strategy that provides pediatric residents with templates for interpersonal communication and clinical decision making that have both immediate and long-term relevance. Understanding residents' perspective on role modeling, and how it aligns with their CCPs' perspective, presents opportunities for improving residents' learning experiences, faculty development, and future research.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Uninsured Children in Texas.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) among US children is 12% according to the 2012 National Health Interview Study. Certain pediatric populations have higher CAM use. We studied an uninsured population because limited access to care likely results in higher CAM use. We surveyed 250 uninsured patients in a free pediatric mobile clinic program. In the largely Hispanic population, rate of CAM use in the preceding 12 months was 45% among children and 59% among parents. Ninety-one percent of children who used CAM had parents who used CAM while only 32% of parents used CAM for themselves but did not use CAM for their children ( P < .001). Seven parents (3%) and 4 children (2%) had ever discussed their CAM use with a physician. Since CAM use is significant in this uninsured population and families do not generally discuss CAM with physicians, health care providers must ask about CAM use and provide guidance.