Children

Medical center–employed nurses work at elementary and middle schools, providing typical school nurse services, annual health screenings, and periodic classroom presentations, leading to improvements in the ability to identify health issues and in the lifestyle choices and academic performance of individual students.

Behavioral health clinicians led weekly sessions for parents and children that combined nutrition education with the teaching of practical strategies for managing the eating-related behaviors of children with cystic fibrosis, resulting in increases in caloric intake and weight in these children.

School-based, culturally appropriate therapy focused on dealing with trauma helps West African refugee children improve coping skills and academic performance.

Jumping Mouse Children's Center, a nonprofit mental health center, provides free or heavily subsidized long-term expressive mental health therapy to low-income children affected by trauma, advocates for their rights, and provides support to their parents. The program has led to improved emotional health for the children and greater knowledge and confidence among parents and other primary caregivers.

Behavioral health clinicians lead a 24-week program consisting of alternating group sessions and in-home consultations with obese preschoolers and their overweight parent(s), leading to improved dietary habits, less weight gain, and lower body mass index among preschoolers and to greater weight loss and lower body mass index among parents.

Ongoing case management, education, and peer support to low-income parents struggling with mental health and substance abuse disorders focuses on reducing the stigma associated with illness, increasing positive family interaction, and identifying and addressing cognitive and behavioral problems in children. Evidence suggests the program leads to less mental health–related stigma and stress, improved parenting skills and social support networks, few psychiatric hospitalizations, enhanced access to needed services for children, and many lasting family reunifications.

On-call, pediatric intensive care unit attending physicians consult with onsite clinicians and patient/family members from their homes via audiovisual technology that allows real-time communication, leading to improved quality and timeliness of care and high levels of patient/family satisfaction.

A hospital makes a telephone-based recording of discharge instructions available to non–English-speaking and low-literacy patients in their native language, leading to improved comprehension of discharge instructions and high levels of patient/family satisfaction.

Popup, color-coded alerts within an electronic health record moderately improve adherence to established guidelines in primary care practices serving pediatric patients with asthma.

A resident education clinic implemented a multifaceted medical home for children with complex chronic conditions, leading to a significant reduction in emergency department visits and high levels of patient/family satisfaction.