Child & Adolescent Health
“Kids have so much potential. How can we optimize their health?”
Rita Mangione-Smith, MD, MPH
Vice President for Research and Health Care Innovation
Executive Director of Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute Senior Investigator
Research overview
Babies, children, and teens have specific health needs. Research and evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI) covers family health from pregnancy through childhood and early adulthood.
KPWHRI research and evaluation topics in child and adolescent health include:
- drug safety during pregnancy
- pediatric care quality in health systems
- quality of care for respiratory illnesses
- care and transitions for hospitalized children
- implementation of screening for adverse childhood experiences
- quality of youth mental health care
- programs to support trauma and resilience-informed care for youth
- impact of social determinants of health
- disease prevention through vaccines
“We’re working with families, helping them make healthy eating, exercise, and preventive care part of their busy daily lives,” says Paula Lozano, MD, MPH, Washington Permanente Medical Group associate medical director for research and translation, KPWHRI senior investigator, and Washington Permanente Medical Group pediatrician.
Recent publications on Child & Adolescent Health
Tyler A, Bryan MA, Zhou C, Mangione-Smith R, Williams D, Johnson DP, Kenyon CC, Rasooly I, Neubauer HC, Wilson KM. Variation in dexamethasone dosing and use outcomes for inpatient croup. Hosp Pediatr. 2022;12(1):22-29. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2021-005854. PubMed
Glanz JM, Clarke CL, Daley MF, Shoup JA, Hambidge SJ, Williams JTB, Groom HC, Kharbanda EO, Klein NP, Jackson LA, Lewin BJ, McClure DL, Xu S, DeStefano F. The childhood vaccination schedule and the lack of association with type 1 diabetes. Pediatrics. 2021 Dec 1;148(6):e2021051910. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-051910. PubMed
Hofstetter AM, Opel DJ, Stockwell MS, Hsu C, deHart MP, Zhou C, Mangione-Smith RM, Englund JA. Influenza-related knowledge, beliefs, and experiences among caregivers of hospitalized children. Hosp Pediatr. 2021 Jul 16:hpeds.2020-003459. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-003459. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Test MR, Mangione-Smith R, Zhou C, Wright DR, Halvorson EE, Johnson DP, Williams DJ, Vachani JG, Hitt TA, Tieder JS. Obesity and health-related quality of life in children hospitalized for acute respiratory illness. Hosp Pediatr. 2021;11(8):841-848. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-004531. Epub 2021 Jul 15. PubMed
Hofstetter AM, Opel DJ, Stockwell MS, Hsu C, Zhou C, Mangione-Smith RM, Englund JA. Associations between healthcare professional communication practices and influenza vaccination of hospitalized children. Acad Pediatr. 2021 Sep-Oct;21(7):1142-1150. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.06.014. Epub 2021 Jul 2. PubMed
Researchers in Child & Adolescent Health
 Annie J. Hoopes, MD. MPHActing Assistant Investigator |
 Paula Lozano, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute |
 Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Cara C. Lewis, PhD, HSPPSenior Investigator |
 Rita Mangione-Smith, MD, MPHVice President for Research and Health Care Innovation, Kaiser Permanente Washington; Executive Director and Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute |
 Robert Penfold, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Rosemary Meza, PhD, MSResearch Associate II |
adjunct and Affiliate researchers
John Dunn, MD, MPH
Pediatrician
Washington Permanente Medical Group
Medical Director of Preventive Care
Kaiser Permanente Washington
Gina Sucato, MD, MPH
Director of Adolescent Health Services
Washington Permanente Medical Group
Doug Opel, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics
University of Washington
Laura P. Richardson, MD, MPH
Adolescent Medicine
Seattle Children's Hospital
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
University of Washington
Pediatric research
Improving child health and care with quality measures
KPWHRI Executive Director Rita Mangione-Smith, MD, MPH, talks about her research to advance pediatric care
IMPACT Center
Improving mental health care for youth
Cara Lewis, PhD, co-leads a new center to support using evidence-based practices in under-resourced settings such as schools.
Behind the scenes
Meeting participants' needs: Our research interventionists
Deborah King and Jessie Waiamau-Ariota describe their pivotal role in research on youth mental health — and more.
news
Screening for adverse childhood experiences
KPWHRI’s Center for Community Health and Evaluation offers 5 recommendations to improve ACEs screens.
Improving Pediatric Care
For better pediatric care, back guidelines with more evidence
In the 2000s, Dr. Beth McGlynn showed that rates of getting recommended care are low. In a new JAMA editorial, Dr. David Grossman has ideas to improve them.
Read it in Healthy Findings.
research projects
Research projects overview for Dr. Rita Mangione-Smith
Dr. Rita Mangione-Smith develops innovative ways to pinpoint which medical treatments, procedures and practices improve patients’ health outcomes, and which ones need improvement.
KPWHRI In the Media
When does your child need antibiotics?
How do I know if my kid needs antibiotics?
New York Times, Apr 17, 2020
Land Acknowledgment
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