Objective: The objective of this study was to compare outpatient behavioral health scheduling for children in Spanish-speaking families in Pennsylvania with that for children in families who speak English.Study design: We made paired English and Spanish telephone calls to outpatient…

Objective: To evaluate whether community factors that differentially affect the health of pregnant people contribute to geographic differences in infant mortality across the US.Study design: This retrospective cohort study sought to characterize the association of a novel…

To access the commentary, click here.The U.S. is confronting a perinatal mental health crisis rooted in policies and endemic racism that have significant negative impact on perinatal women and people, especially those from racial-ethnic minoritized backgrounds. This…

Introduction: Undergraduate medical education and graduate medical education lack formal curricula on providing care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) youth. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to further challenges in delivering…

Since 2016, enactment of more punitive immigration policies resulted in more people avoiding health care and other public services in the U.S. Passage of policies such as the 2019 “public charge” rule change, which expanded the rules by which immigrants could be denied access to…

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines sexual and reproductive health (SRH) as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in all functions and processes related to sexuality and the reproductive system (1). While SRH is critical to general health, well-being,…

During the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown, adolescents spent a great deal of time using social media. There have always been a host of positives and negatives associated with social media use. The negatives are more notable with heavier use. Once restrictions lifted and normalcy…

At PolicyLab, our care for children and families drives our research, informing practice and policy to improve child health. Read more about our research, process, resources, partnerships, and team in our brochure. 

A person's health and well-being throughout their life are profoundly impacted by their early years, and the family context in which a child develops is a critical influencing factor. Pediatric primary care serves as the cornerstone of a family's interaction with the health care system…

Background: Adolescents and young adults account for over 21% of new HIV infections in the U.S. with most new cases among young men. As an important information source for this group, social media can uniquely reveal the perspectives and communicative patterns of this key population…