Role of patient and family engagement in quality improvement for pediatric surgery.

In recent decades, the role of quality improvement (QI) in pediatric surgery has grown substantially. Patient and family engagement can help to maximize the impact of QI by enhancing safety and patient outcomes. Yet, broader, systematic efforts to actively involve patients and families in QI initiatives remain a persistent gap in pediatric surgery. To address this gap, we propose an agenda centered on three key goals for future quality improvement efforts: (1) building partnerships with patients and their families; (2) expanding the use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and novel, cross-disciplinary research methods; and (3) engaging patients and families consistently across all stages of pediatric surgical care. Fulfilling this agenda will be essential in shifting our mindset to view QI as a collective that involves patients, families, clinicians, and payers in continuous, system-wide opportunities to evaluate and improve care. Actively listening to and collaborating with patients and families may also help renew our focus on narrowing the gap between current practice and the best possible practice for children undergoing surgery.

Dating violence prevention in middle school and high school youth.

TOPIC: Dating violence and interpersonal abuse among middle school and high school students. PURPOSE: To review the current literature and evaluate the need of conducting further study in order to create early interventions for the prevention of relationship abuse. SOURCES USED: Case report and review of the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Dating violence among middle school and high school youth must be addressed by screening risk and offering anticipatory guidance during each health maintenance visit in order to prevent victimization of youth in dating and attraction relationships.