Join the National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ) on Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. for The Ever-Evolving Path to Equity in Children’s Health, a​ panel highlighting the evolution of NICHQ's equity work at the  2022 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. 

With an emphasis on the need for collaborative efforts among hospitals, outpatient clinics, and local communities, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)'s recent report, Substance Use Disorder in Pregnancy: Improving Outcomes for Families, details the ways in which state perinatal collaboratives have been exceptionally effective in improving outcomes for pregnant women and infants such as by reducing risk of bloodstream infections and early term deliveries. From 2017-2022, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health funded 13 state perinatal quality collaboratives (PQCs) and the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) as the coordinating center for PQCs.  

The NICHQ National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN) project will continue to convene six Community of Practice (CoP) groups from September 2022 – March 2023. CoPs include Birthing Professionals, Community Advocacy Organizations, Community-Based Home Visitors, Early Childcare Providers, First Responders, and Researchers. Each group will convene twice to continue to address policies, improve skills, and learn from each other’s experiences in the areas of safe sleep and breastfeeding.

Kelly Edwards discusses her journey from NICHQ intern to Senior Project Manager, and shares highlights and key takeaways from the six NICHQ projects she's supported.

As physicians, public health professionals, and care providers, we have an obligation to support youth with unique healthcare needs who are at higher risk for negative health outcomes from discrimination, including bullying, physical assault, and suicide. Join us by engaging in meaningful dialogue about best practices for gender diverse kids to improve quality of life, reduce mental health disparities, and most importantly, help the most historically marginalized kids achieve their optimal health.

In the past several decades, clinicians, public health professionals, and those with lived experience have seen advancements in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) treatments and research that have significantly improved outcomes and increased life expectancies for people living with SCD. For example, the FDA-approved medication hydroxyurea (HU) has been recommended as a SCD standard of care due to its ability to help people with SCD mitigate pain and the need for blood transfusions. Preventative measures, such as screening children and adolescents for risk of stroke and ensuring that all people who have SCD receive recommended vaccinations, have also been instrumental in reducing complications associated with SCD. And recently, development of gene therapies has presented possibilities of a new cure. Conversations on how to improve access to care should continue, and these three recommendations begin with some of the most pressing needs.