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Increasing access to quality healthcare for children who are incarcerated: American Pediatric Society issue of the year (2023–2024)

Pediatric Research volume 95, pages 610–612 (2024)Cite this article

Child health leaders educate the next generation of pediatricians and deliver and advance medical care for all children and adolescents. Children who are detained or incarcerated have a paucity of education opportunities, limited access to evidence-based medical care, and limited research into their needs. Who will educate pediatric residents and fellows about this hidden and vulnerable pediatric population and advocate for their healthcare needs?

American Pediatric Society (APS) members are uniquely poised to advocate for and deliver equal access to care for children in custody. Among our ranks are deans of medical schools, pediatric department chairs, adolescent health division chiefs, pediatric residency program directors, American Board of Pediatrics leaders, and countless other child health leaders. Our unique society of North American child health scholars has an opportunity to design, implement, and advocate for evidence-based medicine for detained or incarcerated children. Only a few pediatric training programs provide opportunities for residents to learn how to manage acute medical problems for children in custody, and even fewer adolescent medicine fellowships include regular engagement with juvenile courts or juvenile justice health systems.

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Acknowledgements

Thank you to the American Pediatric Society (APS) and to the Society for Pediatric Research (SPR) for supporting this initiative that is crucial to the health of our children.

Funding

E.B.’s effort was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (K23DA045747) and the UCLA Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute. The information, content and/or conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by NIH, the U.S. Government, or our institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Elizabeth Barnert

  2. Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA

    Michael R. DeBaun

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  1. Elizabeth Barnert
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E.B. and M.R.D. confirm joint responsibility for the article conception and design, and manuscript preparation.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth Barnert or Michael R. DeBaun.

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Competing interests

M.R.D. and his institution sponsor two externally funded research investigator-initiated projects. Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) will provide funding for the cost of the clinical studies. GBT was not a co-sponsor of either study. M.R.D. did not receive any compensation for the conduct of these two investigator-initiated observational studies. M.R.D. is a member of the Global Blood Therapeutics advisory board for a proposed randomized controlled trial for which he receives compensation. M.R.D. is on the steering committee for a Novartis-sponsored phase II trial to prevent priapism in men. M.R.D. was a medical advisor in developing the CTX001 Early Economic Model. M.R.D. provided medical input on the economic model as part of an expert reference group for the Vertex/CRISPR CTX001 Early Economic Model in 2020. M.R.D. consulted for the Forma Pharmaceutical company about sickle cell disease in 2021 and 2022. E.B. volunteers on the Board of Directors of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) and on the Advisory Board of Human Rights for Kids. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

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Barnert, E., DeBaun, M.R. Increasing access to quality healthcare for children who are incarcerated: American Pediatric Society issue of the year (2023–2024). Pediatr Res 95, 610–612 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-023-02739-3

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