This is an analysis of important aspects of health equity in caring for children and adolescents written by a multidisciplinary team from different medical centers. In this discussion for clinicians, we look at definitions of pediatric health equity and the enormous impact of social determinants of health in this area. Factors involved with pediatric healthcare disparities that are considered include race, ethnicity, gender, age, poverty, socioeconomic status, LGBT status, living in rural communities, housing instability, food insecurity, access to transportation, availability of healthcare professionals, the status of education, and employment as well as immigration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImportance: The COVID-19 pandemic stressed the healthcare field, resulting in a worker exodus at the onset and throughout the pandemic and straining healthcare systems. Female healthcare workers face unique challenges that may impact job satisfaction and retention. It is important to understand factors related to healthcare workers' intent to leave their current field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysicians have a lot of information to cover in a short amount of time. Over time, this creates burnout and compassion fatigue for physicians. However, psychologists are trained and have a unique skillset they can use to help decrease some of these difficulties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntegrated behavioral health care (IBHC) improves patient outcomes, decreases cost, and increases patient satisfaction. It has become increasingly evident that IBHC must be incorporated into the US health care system. Although most health care providers agree that IBHC is beneficial, there is great debate regarding financial sustainability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHumans have long sought to be provided with optimal health care, and the research continues in the twenty-first century. In the spirit of Galen from 19 centuries ago, empowering the patient's physician remains an important approach in health care. There is an emphasis on primary care and integration of behavioral consultation services in primary care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
October 2020
An estimated 1.1 to 1.9 million children and adolescents in the United States are treated for a sports- or recreationally-related concussion each year.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThere have been significant changes in the way Autism has been defined especially in the last decade. The changes encompass criteria over a spectrum rather than individual diagnoses based on clusters of criteria. With these changes, there has been a push for earlier screening and diagnosis to be made to ensure individual impacted by the deficits have ample time and opportunity to receive the services they need.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate the relationship between utilization of institution-affiliated childcare and employee stress among parents working at a large, academic medical center.
Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of the relationship between institution-affiliated childcare and employee stress. Survey questions asked about personal stress related to job, relationship with spouse, parental responsibilities, childcare, finances, and personal health.
Increased visibility of adverse encounters between individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and law enforcement (LE) has stimulated a dialog among providers. There are a variety of contributing factors to the increase, including the recognized lack of training of LE professionals on the needs of individuals with ASD and the paucity of awareness of resources by the families of these individuals. The aim of this article is to provide insight into developmental-behavioral pediatric professionals, to enhance safety and reduce adverse outcomes for individuals with ASD in schools and the community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChrista is a 15-year-old male-to-female (MTF) transgender patient who comes to your Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics office for consultation on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) management and concerns about worsening anxiety. Review of medical history included mild persistent asthma managed with steroid inhaler and leukotriene antagonist. She was diagnosed with ADHD at 12 years and has been placed on methylphenidate and clonidine over the years with little improvement.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe describe the implementation of the Athletic Injury Database (AID), a mobile device-based tool for documenting sideline encounters with athletes. Primary measures of the implementation process were: 1) patterns of AID use, 2) nature of sideline encounters captured, and 3) providers' reported satisfaction. Over 2 yr, the AID captured 6237 sideline encounters by athletic trainers and physicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn 18-year-old male who had been diagnosed at age 7 with a rare, progressive liver disease was referred to the transplant center and received a transplant, even though he did not meet the center's criteria for a patient with hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). Complications required relisting the patient urgently, but he eventually fully recovered; total hospital charges for his treatment exceeded $5 million. Reflection upon the case resulted in analysis of two ethical questions: primarily, clinician obligation to balance the provision of actuarially fair health care to society against the healing of a single patient; secondarily, the effects of malleable transplant criteria on trust in the patient selection process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review of integrated behavioral health (IBH) provides a background on IBH models, and the benefits of IBH in pediatric practice with an emphasis on how IBH specialists can collaborate with families and clinicians. An overview of intellectual disability (ID) and psychiatric disorders focused on disorders of inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) highlights issues in assessment and monitoring of these patients with implications for clinical practice and the role of IBH in caring for patients with IEM disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: There are conflicting data regarding the association between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL), especially among certain population subgroups and for mental and physical health domains.
Methods: This study analysed the relationship between BMI and HRQoL (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System mental and physical health scales) using ordinary least squares regression. Each model allowed for the possibility of a non-linear relationship between BMI and the outcome, adjusting for age, gender, comorbidities, diet and physical activity.
Background: Expanding the use of evidence-based behavioral interventions in community settings has met with limited success in various health outcomes as fidelity and dose of clinical interventions are often diluted when translated to communities. We conducted a pilot implementation study to examine adoption of the rigorously evaluated Healthier Families Program by Parks and Recreation centers in 3 cities across the country (MI, GA, NV) with diverse socio-cultural environments.
Methods: Using the RE-AIM framework, we evaluated the program both quantitatively (pre/post surveys of health behavior change; attendance & fidelity) and qualitatively (interviews with Parks and Recreation staff and participants following the program).
This study evaluated the test-retest reliability of a novel computer-based, portable balance assessment tool, the Equilibrate System (ES), used to diagnose sports-related concussion. Twenty-seven students participated in ES testing consisting of three sessions over 4 weeks. The modified Balance Error Scoring System was performed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhysician Leadersh J
September 2015
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
September 2015
Background: The cobas HPV Test ("cobas"; Roche Molecular Systems) detects HPV16 and HPV18 individually, and a pool of 12 other high-risk (HR) HPV types. The test is approved for (i) atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) triage to determine need for colposcopy, (ii) combined screening with cytology ("cotesting"), and (iii) primary HPV screening.
Methods: To assess the possible value of HPV16/18 typing, >17,000 specimens from a longitudinal cohort study of initially HPV-positive women (HC2, Qiagen) were retested with cobas.