Children who join families through the process of adoption, whether through a domestic or international route, often have multiple health care needs. Pediatricians and other health care personnel are in a unique position to guide families in achieving optimal health for the adopted children as families establish a medical home. Shortly after placement in an adoptive home, it is recommended that children have a timely comprehensive health evaluation to provide care for known medical needs and identify health issues that are unknown. It is important to begin this evaluation with a review of all available medical records and pertinent verbal history. A complete physical examination then follows. The evaluation should also include diagnostic testing based on findings from the history and physical examination as well as the risks presented by the child's previous living conditions. Age-appropriate screenings may include, but are not limited to, newborn screening panels and hearing, vision, dental, and formal behavioral and/or developmental screenings. The comprehensive assessment may occur at the time of the initial visit to the physician after adoptive placement or can take place over several visits. Adopted children can be referred to other medical specialists as deemed appropriate. The Council on Adoption, Foster Care, and Kinship Care is a resource within the American Academy of Pediatrics for physicians providing care for children who are being adopted. Pediatricians have played a significant role in the adoption process, in some cases providing counseling to parents during the preadoption phase and subsequently providing health care for these children. Special needs among adopted children need to be identified so they may be evaluated and treated appropriately. The pediatrician also needs to become knowledgeable about the resources available to help families integrate the new adoptee into the family unit. The purpose of this Clinical Report is to provide the general pediatrician with practical guidance that addresses the initial comprehensive health evaluation of adopted children.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:The relationship between enlarged subarachnoid spaces and subdural collections is poorly understood and creates challenges for clinicians investigating the etiology of subdural collections. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of subdural collections on cross sectional imaging in children with macrocephaly correlating with subarachnoid space enlargement.
Background: Childhood adversity is linked to a number of adult health and psychosocial outcomes; however, it is not clear how to best assess and model childhood adversity reported by adolescents with known maltreatment exposure. Objective: This study sought to identify an empirically-supported measurement model of childhood adversity for adolescents in child protective custody and associations among childhood adversity and adolescent outcomes. Methods: Self-report survey data assessed childhood adversity and adolescent outcomes, including psychological wellbeing, quality of life, and substance use, in 151 adolescents ages 16 to 22 in protective custody with a documented maltreatment history. Results: Findings suggest that, among youth with complex trauma histories, it is important to distinguish among risk related to unexpected tragedy (e.g., natural disaster, parental divorce), family instability (e.g., parental substance abuse or mental health concerns), and family violence (e.g., physical or sexual abuse). Family violence was associated with poorer psychological
This chart review screening instrument identified differences in characteristics of children, caregivers, and illness during hospitalization that may allow for earlier detection of MCA and referral for further assessment to the multidisciplinary team.
Objective
The study sought to develop the necessary elements for a personalized health record (PHR) for youth emancipating from child protective custody (eg, foster care) by collecting thoughts and ideas from current and former foster youth and community stakeholders who have a significant amount of experience working with emancipating young people.
Materials and Methods
We employed a mixed methods, participatory research design using concept mapping to identify key features for PHR across stakeholders.
Results
In the clusters, common themes for necessary elements for a PHR included health education, health tips, medication instructions, diagnoses including severity, and website resources that could be trusted to provide reliable information, and addressed data privacy issues such as the primary user being able to choose what diagnoses to share with their trusted adult and the ability to assign a trusted adult to view a part of the record.
Discussion
By directly involving youth in the design of the PHR, we are able to ensure we included the necessary health and life skills elements that they require. As a PHR is created for foster youth, it is important to consider the multiple uses that the data may have for emancipated youth.
Conclusion
A PHR for foster youth needs to include an appropriate combination of information and education for a vulnerable population. In addition to providing some of their basic health and custody information, a PHR provides an opportunity to give them information that can be trusted to explain common diagnoses, medications, and family health history risks.
Foster caregivers receive insufficient information despite the evidence that these children are likely to have complex needs. It is, therefore, necessary for the pediatrician to recognize existing medical problems, identify new medical problems, educate foster caregivers, and communicate with the multidisciplinary team.
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