On behalf of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, researchers at PolicyLab responded to a request for comment on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) draft recommendation statement and draft evidence on behavioral counseling interventions to prevent sexually transmitted…

OBJECTIVE: To examine how characteristics vary between children with any mental health (MH) diagnosis who have typical spending and the highest spending; to identify independent predictors of highest spending; and to examine drivers of spending groups. METHODS: This retrospective…

Although maternal smoking during pregnancy is a well-known risk factor for numerous adverse outcomes, two systematic reviews in 1999 and 2015 concluded that smoking mothers have lower risk of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy compared with nonsmokers. Recent studies examined the…

The impact of the 2009 changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) on mothers receiving WIC benefits was evaluated using repeated, cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from…

The mental health issues that can follow sexual assault are well described. Mental health service (MHS) referrals can be beneficial but can be challenging to obtain. Absence of MHS can exacerbate mental health issues and lead to subsequent…

Multiple psychosocial interventions are efficacious for children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) including behavioral parent training, behavioral classroom management, behavioral peer interventions, and organization training programs. Unfortunately…

Florida's Healthy Start Program is a statewide prenatal screening program that aims to identify pregnant women at risk of adverse birth outcomes. However, the effectiveness of this legislatively mandated prenatal risk screening tool in predicting poor birth outcomes is unknown. This…

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a rare demyelinating disease in need of more studies to determine effective treatment regimens. The rarity of the disorder, however, makes large randomized-controlled trials challenging. Validation of the International Classification…

Poor diet, low physical activity, sedentary behavior and smoking are modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases that often develop early in life. An improved understanding of how unhealthy behaviors co-occur within individual children across childhood and adolescence could inform the…

Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE) is a 6-session group training designed to teach positive parenting skills. Parent engagement in such programs is a common implementation barrier. Our objectives were to (1) examine the impact of a peer mentor on attendance…