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
Desai AD, Zhou C, Haaland W, Johnson J, Lion KC, Lopez MA, Williams DJ, Kenyon CC, Mangione-Smith R, Johnson DP. Social disadvantage, access to care, and disparities in physical functioning among children hospitalized with respiratory illness. J Hosp Med. 2020 Feb 11;15(2):e1-e8. doi: 10.12788/jhm.3359. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Opel DJ, Henrikson NB, Lepere K, Robinson JD. Progress in evidence-based communication about childhood vaccines. Acad Pediatr. 2020 Feb 10. pii: S1876-2859(20)30061-9. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2020.02.007. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Desai AD, Zhou C, Simon TD, Mangione-Smith R, Britto MT. Validation of a Parent-Reported Hospital-to-Home Transition Experience Measure. LID - e20192150 [pii] LID - 10.1542/peds.2019-2150 [doi] Pediatrics. 2020;145(2). pii: peds.2019-2150. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2150. PubMed
Lion KC, Zhou C, Ebel BE, Penfold RB, Mangione-Smith R. Identifying modifiable health care barriers to improve health equity for hospitalized children. Hosp Pediatr. 2019 Dec 4. pii: hpeds.2019-0096. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2019-0096. [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Mangione-Smith R, Zhou C, Williams DJ, Johnson DP, Kenyon CC, Tyler A, Quinonez R, Vachani J, McGalliard J, Tieder JS, Simon TD, Wilson KM. Pediatric Respiratory Illness Measurement System (PRIMES) Scores and Outcomes. LID - e20190242 [pii] LID - 10.1542/peds.2019-0242 [doi] Pediatrics. 2019;144(2). pii: peds.2019-0242. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-0242. PubMed
Researchers in Child & Adolescent Health
 David C. Grossman, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, KPWHRI; National Senior Medical Director for Community Health at Kaiser Permanente; Physician, Pediatrics, Washington Permanente Medical Group |
 Paula Lozano, MD, MPHSenior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute; |
 Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Michael L. Jackson, PhD, MPHSenior Investigator |
 Sascha Dublin, MD, PhDSenior Investigator |
 Cara C. Lewis, PhD, HSPPAssociate 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 |
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
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.
Prevention
How to keep guns—and troubled teens—safe
Dr. Grossman’s team has studied safe gun storage. But they found parents of adolescents with mental illness were no more likely to store guns safely.
Read about it in Healthy Findings.
Teen Health
Helping teens — and their families — manage online health care
CCHE’s Creagh Miller knows teens do best when technology supports trusting relationships.
Read it in Healthy Findings.
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
