Washington – An article appearing in today’s edition of JAMA Pediatrics identifies the 10 most urgent health and health care priorities for children and explores actionable federal responses to mitigate each problem. The analysis was authored by Glenn Flores, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Clinical Sciences at UT Southwestern and co-author of the study, and First Focus President Bruce Lesley.
“It shouldn’t be this hard for kids to grow and thrive in the world’s richest, most powerful nation,” said Lesley. “But children face obstacles at every turn – from a child poverty rate double that of seniors to a broken immigration system that says kids don’t count.”
“We’re at a critical juncture in the future health and health care of our children,” said Dr. Flores “The ways in which we prioritize these issues, or not, can have life-altering effects on current and future generations of Americans.”
The authors evaluated priorities based on prevalence, impact on children’s health, and the potential for federal policy to make a difference. They also cite specific policy reforms that would mitigate each priority problem. In order, those priorities and selected policy recommendations are:
Priority |
Selected policy recommendations |
|
1. | Poverty |
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2. | Hunger |
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3. | Uninsurance |
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4. | Child abuse and neglect |
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5. | Obesity |
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6. | Gun violence |
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7. | Mental health |
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8. | Racial and ethnic disparities |
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9. | Immigration |
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10. | Lack of investment in child-specific health research |
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“We know what the most urgent threats are for kids, and there are concrete ideas to make progress,” said Lesley. “What we need is the political will to do it.”
Dr. Flores served as past Chair of the Research Committee of the Academic Pediatric Association, is a former member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, and has served as an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study was funded with support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
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First Focus is a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. For more information, visit www.firstfocus.net.