Over the past decade, the health care community has demonstrated growing interest in and commitment to addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) and patients’ social needs – the midstream manifestations of the impact of SDOH1 – in clinical settings. Four out of 5 US hospitals demonstrate leadership commitment to systematically address social needs as part […]
Practice Gap Beyond recognizing the medical and nonmedical dimensions that often interact to cause childhood growth faltering and malnutrition, it is important to understand the role of pediatric feeding disorders, to screen for and address social determinants of health, and to understand the multidisciplinary model of treatment. Objectives After completing this article, readers should be able […]
Understanding how housing inequities among families with children are rooted in structural racism is important for identifying opportunities to engage in ongoing and collective work as pediatricians to lift children out of poverty. This article discusses the complex mechanisms between housing and child and family health outcomes, and offers potential solutions linking housing, health programs, […]
Originally posted on HealthAffairs. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides a critical opportunity to improve child and family health and well-being by reducing the poverty and food insecurity that too many families, especially families of color, experience. The ARPA expands the benefits and eligibility of the income support programs, the Child Tax Credit (CTC) […]
Food insecurity (FI) is a public health issue in the US. Over the past 25 years, national prevalence of food insecurity – encompassing both low and very low food security – has been consistently over 10 percent, and very low food security alone has persisted at over 3 percent. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic […]
Introduction Healthcare systems are increasingly interested in identifying patients’ housing-related risks, but minimal information exists to inform screening question selection. The primary study aim is to evaluate discordance among 5 housing-related screening questions used in health care. Methods This was a cross-sectional multisite survey of social risks used in a convenience sample of adults seeking […]
Welcome to the 2nd Annual Health Equity Report Health equity is at the core of who we are. Ensuring we deliver the very best of care to each and every patient, as well as working to address detrimental health determinants such as economic instability, food insecurity, and lack of access to education is our mission […]
As we awoke this month to another dispiriting report of the numbers of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and deaths, a new set of horrifying statistics hit the airwaves. By the end of April 2020, 2 in 5 households with children <12 were food insecure (meaning they were unable to afford enough food for all […]
This pandemic has magnified the vulnerability of housing insecure and homeless families. We encourage health care providers to investigate how local and state policies are affecting these children and families. Pediatricians can speak up for children by coalition building with community organizations and government affairs specialists, calling legislators to voice their concerns, volunteering as an […]
Decades of research demonstrate the importance of a safe, stable, affordable home as a foundation for health beginning in the prenatal period and extending over the life course. 1 Unfortunately, in the United States today, millions of children face housing circumstances that harm their health and, as a result, increase unnecessary health care utilization. 2 […]