Positive neighborhood environments may promote healthier behaviors, yet few studies have examined associations between neighborhood social environment and diet. We examined associations of neighborhood perceived safety, collective efficacy, and violent crime with dietary intake among…

IMPORTANCE: Many children and adolescents in the United States are exposed to neighborhood gun violence. Associations between violence exposure and children’s short-term mental health are not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between neighborhood gun violence and…

Pediatric health systems are increasingly screening caregivers for unmet social needs. However, it remains unclear how best to connect families with unmet needs to available and appropriate community resources. We aimed to explore caregivers' perceived barriers to and facilitators of…

The effects of poverty on child health have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and concurrent economic recession, magnifying the urgency for pediatric healthcare institutions to effectively address patients’ unmet social needs. Simultaneously, there is increasing policy and…

The burden of asthma disproportionately affects minority and low-income communities, resulting in racial and socioeconomic disparities in asthma prevalence, asthma exacerbations, and asthma-related death. Social determinants of health are increasingly implicated as root causes of…

In May 2021, PolicyLab virtually convened more than 30 experts from across the United States for a workshop on state policy levers to address unmet social needs in the pediatric setting. This workshop grew out of a PolicyLab issue brief focused on ensuring that screening for unmet…

Between April and June 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, 29.5% of children in the US, predominantly from low-income families and racial and ethnic minority groups, experienced household food insecurity.1 The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and…

The American Rescue Plan (ARP), enacted into law in March 2021, includes important, but temporary, improvements to the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. These provisions will help reduce child poverty by 50% and benefit…

As health care systems and payers are increasingly focused on the social needs of patients, there has been an emphasis on screening in the health care setting as a way to understand the support families require. However, we lack robust, evidence-based means of determining and…

Researchers at PolicyLab responded to a request for comment on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposed rule to simplify meal service and monitoring requirements in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Under guidelines currently in place as part of the Healthy,…