Association between youth blood pressure and exposure to pediatric fruit and vegetable prescriptions.

Background: Health impacts of pediatric fruit and vegetable prescription programs (FVPPs) are unclear. This study assessed whether exposure to an FVPP that provided $15 produce prescriptions during pediatric visits was associated with differences in child diet, food security, physical activity, weight status, and blood pressure.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis included data from caregiver-child dyads with varying levels of exposure to the FVPP.

Protecting the health of children with universal child cash benefits.

This Health Policy examines the relationship between child cash benefits and child health, with the goal of informing future policy development in the USA. As of 2024, more than 140 countries have adopted large-scale, government-funded child cash transfer programmes. High-income countries more often adopt universal or near universal programmes, while lower-income countries often impose means tests or condition benefits on specific behaviours.

Caregiver-reported barriers to engagement in a paediatric fresh fruit and vegetable prescription programme.

Paediatric fruit and vegetable prescription programmes hold promise in improving food security and dietary patterns among youth. However, programme success is largely dependent upon caregiver and family engagement. The current study sought to gain a better understanding of environmental barriers to engagement in a paediatric fruit and vegetable prescription programme in one low-income, urban community (Flint, Michigan, USA).

REDCap to Epic interfaces create an efficient hybrid software solution for a public health registry.

A public health registry and intervention was created in response to the Flint water crisis to identify and refer exposed individuals to public health services to ameliorate the deleterious impact of lead exposure. Traditional technology architecture domains, funded scope of work, as well as community input were considered when defining the requirements of the selected solutions. A hybrid software solution was created using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) to deploy an open participant survey and bypass requirements to create user accounts, and Epic to manage deduplication and participant communication and tracking.

A Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program for Prenatal Patients in Flint, Michigan: Baseline Food Security and Dietary Intake.

Although adequate nutritional status during pregnancy is necessary to support optimal fetal development, many low-income women have poor access to fresh, high-nutrient foods. To address these challenges, a pediatric fruit and vegetable (FV) prescription program was expanded to include pregnant women, providing one prescription for fresh FVs worth 15 US dollars during each prenatal office visit for redemption at farmers'/mobile markets. This analysis describes baseline sociodemographic characteristics, food security, and dietary intake among 253 pregnant women in Flint, Michigan in 2022-23.

Early and Higher Volumes of Formula Supplementation after Birth Impact Breastfeeding Rates at Discharge in Well-Baby Nursery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Physiologic breast milk production in the first 24 hours is estimated to be between 2 and 10 mL per feed. Many mothers intending to breastfeed use formula supplementation (FS) early on, which can affect successful breastfeeding. Whether the volume and timing of FS introduced in the first 24 hours of life (24 HOL) impacts the rate of "breastfeeding at discharge" (BFAD) is not well-studied and was investigated herein.

Assessing Resident Understanding of Common Pediatric Rashes on Skin of Color.

Purpose: Pediatric dermatological training lacks in skin of color education and exposure, contributing to health inequities.

Methods: We collected data from a survey assessing comfort of diagnosis on SOC before and after the intervention of a presentation.

Results: This study demonstrates an increase in comfort of diagnosis after lecture intervention.

Child Mental Health Status in Flint, Michigan: A Worsening Health Inequity, 2018-2022.

To determine the burden of mental health disorders among children enrolled in Michigan's Flint Registry in the context of a local public health crisis and a nationally declared pediatric mental health crisis. This survey-based study included 1203 children aged 3 to 17 years whose caregivers enrolled them in the Flint Registry between December 2018 and March 2020 and who completed a follow-up survey between October 2020 and March 2022. The baseline and follow-up surveys included caregiver reports of childhood anxiety and depression and overall mental health wellness.

Impact of feeding volumes in the first 24 h of life on neonatal feeding intolerance.

Objective: This study investigates whether volumes of intake in the first 24 h of life (24 HOL), in relation to birth weight (BW) and gestational age (GA), impact neonatal feeding intolerance (FI).

Methods: This study employed a retrospective chart review of 6,650 infants born at ≥35 weeks. The volumes of each formula feed per kg BW in the first 24 HOL were assessed.

"The Shelves Are Bare": The Impact of COVID-19 on Families Enrolled in a Pediatric Produce Prescription Program.

Objectives A large pediatric clinic in Flint, Michigan, implemented a produce prescription program for youth to address enduring challenges with food access and food insecurity. Approximately 18 months later, on March 23, 2020, the State of Michigan issued a "stay home, stay safe" executive order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to (1) explore caregiver experiences with access to and utilization of the prescription program during COVID-19; and (2) understand perceived changes in the food environment during the "stay home, stay safe" executive order.

Not built for families: Associations between neighborhood disinvestment and reduced parental cognitive stimulation.

Infants learn and develop within an ecological context that includes family, peers, and broader built and social environments. This development relies on proximal processes-reciprocal interactions between infants and the people and environments around them that help them understand their world. Most research examining predictors of proximal processes like parent-child interaction and parenting has focused on elements within the home and family.

Preterm sepsis is associated with acute lung injury as measured by pulmonary severity score.

Background: Sepsis related acute lung injury (ALI) is established in adults but has not been investigated in premature infants. Herein, we used pulmonary severity score (PSS) trajectories and C-reactive protein (CRP) to examine the relation between sepsis and ALI in premature infants.

Methods: This retrospective study identified 211 sepsis and 123 rule out (RO) events in 443 infants born <31 weeks and <1500 grams.

Parent report of child behaviour: Findings from the Flint Registry cohort.

Background: Children in Flint, Michigan, have multiple risk factors for behavioural challenges, including exposure to lead during the Flint water crisis. However, their behavioural health status is largely unknown. Robust data from the Flint Registry can help understand the burden of behavioural outcomes and inform the allocation of resources.

Effect of a pediatric fruit and vegetable prescription program on child dietary patterns, food security, and weight status: a study protocol.

Background: Although nutrients in fruits and vegetables are necessary for proper development and disease prevention, most US children consume fewer servings than recommended. Prescriptions for fruits and vegetables, written by physicians to exchange for fresh produce, address access and affordability challenges while emphasizing the vital role of diet in health promotion and disease prevention. Michigan's first fruit and vegetable prescription program (FVPP) exclusively for children was introduced in 2016 at one large pediatric clinic in Flint and expanded to a second clinic in 2018.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome following appendicitis in a young child: A case report and review of the pediatric literature.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is an acute or subacute neurological disorder with variable clinical manifestations including encephalopathy, headache, seizures, visual disturbance, and focal neurologic deficits. Neuroimaging often shows frequently reversible vasogenic edema that predominantly involves the subcortical parieto-occipital lobes. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome has been associated with hypertension and reported in patients with many conditions including eclampsia/pre-eclampsia and immunosuppressive therapy.

Household Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Participation is Associated With Higher Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.

Objective: Examine whether differences were present by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation in dietary patterns, achievement of dietary recommendations, and food security for children (aged 7-18 years) receiving free/reduced-price school meals.

Methods: Cross-sectional study. Caregiver-child dyads at a pediatric clinic completed validated surveys.

Influence of a Pediatric Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program on Child Dietary Patterns and Food Security.

Limited access to fresh foods is a barrier to adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables among youth, particularly in low-income communities. The current study sought to examine preliminary effectiveness of a fruit and vegetable prescription program (FVPP), which provided one USD 15 prescription to pediatric patients during office visits. The central hypothesis was that exposure to this FVPP is associated with improvements in dietary patterns and food security.

Family Perceptions of a Cooking and Nutrition Program for Low-Income Children and Adolescents.

. Flint Kids Cook, a nutrition and culinary program for children and adolescents, was created in October 2017 to address health concerns among youth and families in a low-income, urban community. In this study, researchers examined family experiences with the 6-week, chef-led program, which was taught in a farmers' market kitchen.

Preexisting Conditions That Kill Us.

To protect human life, science and public health need to guide public policy. We call for an end to the anti-science, anti-prevention, and anti-regulatory policies that have resulted in countless preexisting conditions and deaths. Reactive responses are not a substitute for primary prevention; we must invest in environmental and public health protections.

: positive influence of a farmers' market cooking and nutrition programme on health-related quality of life of US children in a low-income, urban community.

Objective: To examine changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among youth who participated in Flint Kids Cook, a 6-week healthy cooking programme for children, and assess whether changes in HRQoL were associated with changes in cooking self-efficacy, attitude towards cooking (ATC) and diet.

Design: Pre-post survey (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, Block Kids Food Screener, 8-item cooking self-efficacy, 6-item ATC) using child self-report at baseline and programme exit. Analysis involved paired sample t-tests and Pearson's correlations.