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AAP Agenda for Children Strategic Plan Povertyand Child Health

Poverty and Child Health

In response to the growing number of children living in poor and lowincome households in the UnitedStates, the AAP added Poverty and Child Health to the Agenda for Children in 2013.

AAP Poverty and Child Health Leadership Workgroup (PDF)

Why Focus on Poverty?

Poverty Affects Child HealthPoverty is a significant determinant of child health. Children living in poverty have worse health outcomesfor infant mortality, developmental delays, asthma, ear infections, obesity, nutrition, and child abuse andneglect. Child poverty also adversely impacts health across the life course and into adulthood.

Nearly Half of All Children Live in Poor/Lowincome HouseholdsFamilies in poor and lowincome households have difficulty accessing health care and meeting the basicneeds that are crucial for healthy child development. In the United States in 2012:

22% of all children under 18 lived in poverty (16 million children)45% of all children under 18 lived in lowincome households (32.7 million children)

Most Pediatricians Will Care for Lowincome/Poor Families

Economic insecurity impacts a diverse child population, including children in suburban, urban, andrural communities.Since 2008, suburbs have experienced the largest and fastest increase of poor populations.

How Can the AAP Help Address Poverty and Child Health?

The AAP Poverty and Child Health Leadership Work Group is developing a strategic plan that willhelp address the health effects of poverty and ensure the healthy development of all children within amedical home.

The work group will identify what works to help lowincome families, children, and the pediatricianswho provide their care.

The strategic plan will focus on opportunities to do the following:

Support pediatricians to address poverty within their practices and engage parents in the effort

Translate research evidence about the impacts of poverty on child health outcomes into solutions.

Raise awareness about the impact of poverty on child health, and strategies that work to mitigate thehealth effects of poverty.

Develop strategies to help pediatricians identify and collaborate with community partners to helpaddress the health impacts of poverty.

Advocate for policies at the national, state, and local levels that help lift families out of poverty andthat ameliorate the impact of poverty on the health of children.

For more information, contact cocp@aap.org.

In the News

James M Perrin, MD, FAAP"How Being Poor Can Make You Sick"May 2014, The Atlantic

Pediatricians can connect economically insecure families to community resourcesApril 1, 2014. AAP News

Andrew Racine, MD, PhD FAAP"Child Poverty: Can Pediatricians Make a Difference?" February 14, 2014. Medscape Pediatrics.

James M Perrin, MD, FAAP"Children in Poverty," January 15, 2014. New York Times.

Katie Plax, MD, FAAPA living wage to improve child health and well-being January 3, 2014. St Louis-Dispatch

Benjamin Gitterman, MD FAAP

The effect of poverty on childrens health November 10, 2013. Washington Post

AAP Resources

AdvocacyThe AAP advocates for federal and state policies that support low income and poor children.

The AAP Division of State Government Affairs provides resources to support AAP chapters and membersadvocating on behalf of children and families living in poverty.

ProgramsMany AAP programs focus on the health of low-income children.

The CATCH and Healthy Tomorrows programs distribute grants for projects that promotecommunity partnerships to improve access to health care, community based health care, preventivehealth care, and service coordination. The National Center for Medical Home Implementation provides resources and tools to ensure allchildren have access to a medical home.The AAP Head Start National Center on Health provides education, training and technical assistanceto the Head Start community.

PolicyThe AAP develops policy statements and other publications about the impact of poverty on child health.Current policy includes:

Providing Care for Children and Adolescents Facing Homelessness and Housing Insecurity Medicaid Policy Statement Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Role of the Pediatrician: Translating DevelopmentalScience into Lifelong Health The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bond: Focus on Children in Poverty

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AAP Speaking Points: Scope of Practice Issues in the Delivery ofPedicatric Health CareThe American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) oers speaking points on the scope of practice issuesin the delivery of pediatric health care.

New Partnership Brings Key Leaders in Maternal, Newborn and ChildHealth Together to Improve QualitySecretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced the establishment of a unique andhistoric global development alliance (GDA).

AAP Agenda for Children: Early Brain and Child Development PriorityInitiativeThe EBCD initiative challenges its members to integrate the expanding neurodevelopmentalsciences of early brain development into the knowledge and practice of pediatrics.

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI)Each year, an estimated three in 1000 infants are born in the US with moderate, severe, or profoundhearing loss.

AAP Advocates for Access to Health Care for Immigrant ChildrenThe AAP policy statement, Providing Care for Immigrant, Migrant, and Border Children, will bepublished in the June 2013 print issue of Pediatrics and is published online May 6. The statementupdates a previous policy dating to 2005.

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