Almost 50% of children have not received all the recommended vaccines at some point before their second birthday, according to a study of 300,000 children that was recently published in JAMA Pediatrics. While some cases of skipped vaccines may be due to missed opportunities or…

It was early evening on December 23, 2009, when I raced across an underground tunnel in the US Capitol complex. It was dimly lit and quiet. Most staffers on Capitol Hill had already left for the holidays; only a few of the senator’s advisors remained. They, like I, had stayed to watch…

One of six commentaries on “Obesity: Chasing an Elusive Epidemic,” by Daniel Callahan, from the January-February 2013 issue.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of electronic health record-based clinical decision support (CDS) and physician performance feedback on adherence to guidelines for acute otitis media (AOM) and otitis media with effusion (OME). METHODS: We conducted a factorial-design cluster…

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess urban adolescents' knowledge of and attitudes about emergency contraception (EC) and to assess the intention to use EC in particular hypothetical situations. We hypothesized that knowledge about EC would be limited, but that adolescents would…

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Parents of children with complex chronic conditions report fragmented care, unmet medical needs, and financial strain from health care costs. The aim of this study was to identify both prevalent themes discussed during pediatric palliative care consultation…

OBJECT: Enlargement of the subarachnoid spaces has been theorized as a risk factor for the development of subdural hemorrhage (SDH). As the finding of unexplained SDH in children often raises suspicion for nonaccidental trauma, the possibility of increased risk of SDH in children with…

Faced with the need to improve quality, health care enterprises have used principles from highly reliable industries to make tactical progress. As the health care system faces growing challenges to transform itself, we propose business model innovation as a strategic framework for…

OBJECTIVE: Describe variability in admission, discharge, and occupancy patterns for surgical patients at a large children's hospital and assess the relationship between scheduled admissions and occupancy. BACKGROUND: High hospital occupancy degrades quality of care and access,…

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to test the impact of an education and training intervention about management of common childhood illnesses on caregiver knowledge and health service use by an index child. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental, preintervention…