A growing evidence base suggests home and neighborhood environmental exposures may influence adolescent sleep, but few studies have assessed these relationships using methods that account for time-varying, location-specific exposures, or multiple neighborhood contexts. This study aimed…

PolicyLab responded to a request for public comment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on proposed changes to meet the needs of a Modern, Data-Driven Program in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). In their response, PolicyLab experts…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increases in pediatric obesity and widening pre-existing disparities. To better understand the pandemic's long-term impacts, we evaluated trends in obesity across different demographic groups during the pandemic through December 2022…

More than 1 in 3 US children live in households with incomes less than 150% of the federal poverty level. Experiencing childhood poverty can have profound negative impacts on children’s health. Nondirected cash transfer programs, such as the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit (eCTC),…

The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to decreased maternal and child health care engagement, especially among marginalized populations. Existing disparities in prenatal care access and quality faced by pregnant immigrant people are likely to be amplified by the pandemic. We conducted…

Research is needed to identify how clinical decision support (CDS) systems can support communication about and engagement with tobacco use treatment in pediatric settings for parents who smoke. We developed a CDS system that identifies parents who smoke, delivers motivational messages…

Suspicion for child abuse is influenced by implicit biases. Evaluation by a Child Abuse Pediatrician (CAP) may reduce avoidable child protective services (CPS) referrals. Our objective was to investigate the association of patient demographic, social and clinical characteristics with…

PolicyLab responded to a request for public comment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the Proposed Rule on Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  In their response, PolicyLab experts offer their…

In March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that there were 1205 maternal deaths in 2021 in the US, marking a substantial uptrend from 861 deaths in 2020 and 754 in 2019. This sharp 40% increase in the maternal mortality rate to 32.9 deaths per 100 000…

The words used to describe patients have the power to influence their care. “No-show” is shorthand for a patient missing an appointment without alerting the health care team. This term has its contextual root in business, in which a customer’s failure to attend an appointment can be…