This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (21)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Forrest, C. B.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, M. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Forrest, C. B.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, M. R.
Related Collections
Right arrow Office Practice

PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 1 January 2003, pp. 171-178

REVIEW ARTICLE

Outcomes Research in Pediatric Settings: Recent Trends and Future Directions

Christopher B. Forrest, MD, PhD*,{ddagger}, Scott A. Shipman, MD, MPH*,{ddagger}, Denise Dougherty, PhD§ and Marlene R. Miller, MD, MSc{ddagger},§

* Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
{ddagger} Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland
§ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland

--> Objective. Pediatric outcomes research examines the effects of health care delivered in everyday medical settings on the health of children and adolescents. It is an area of inquiry in its nascent stages of development.

Methods. We conducted a systematic literature review that covered articles published during the 6-year interval 1994–1999 and in 39 peer-reviewed journals chosen for their likelihood of containing child health services research. This article summarizes the article abstraction, reviews the literature, describes recent trends, and makes recommendations for future work.

Results. In the sample of journals that we examined, the number of pediatric outcomes research articles doubled between 1994 and 1999. Hospitals and primary care practices were the most common service sectors, accounting for more than half of the articles. Common clinical categories included neonatal conditions, asthma, psychosocial problems, and injuries. Approximately 1 in 5 studies included multistate or national samples; 1 in 10 used a randomized controlled trial study design. Remarkably few studies examined the health effects of preventive, diagnostic, long-term management, or curative services delivered to children and adolescents.

Conclusions. Outcomes research in pediatric settings is a rapidly growing area of inquiry that is acquiring breadth but has achieved little depth in any single content area. Much work needs to be done to inform decision making regarding the optimal ways to finance, organize, and deliver child health care services. To improve the evidence base of pediatric health care, more effectiveness research is needed to evaluate the overall and relative effects of services delivered to children and adolescents in everyday settings.

Key Words: outcomes research • effectiveness • child • healthcare financing • organization of health care

Abbreviations: CHIP, Child Health and Illness Profile • CT, computed tomography

Received for publication Jan 17, 2002; Accepted Jun 4, 2002.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
T. R. Vetter
A Clinical Profile of a Cohort of Patients Referred to an Anesthesiology-Based Pediatric Chronic Pain Medicine Program
Anesth. Analg., March 1, 2008; 106(3): 786 - 794.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
T. R. Vetter
A Primer on Health-Related Quality of Life in Chronic Pain Medicine
Anesth. Analg., March 1, 2007; 104(3): 703 - 718.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
A. Sedman, J. M. Harris II, K. Schulz, E. Schwalenstocker, D. Remus, M. Scanlon, and V. Bahl
Relevance of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators for Children's Hospitals
Pediatrics, January 1, 2005; 115(1): 135 - 145.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. R. Miller and C. Zhan
Pediatric Patient Safety in Hospitals: A National Picture in 2000
Pediatrics, June 1, 2004; 113(6): 1741 - 1746.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. Dougherty and L. A. Simpson
Measuring the Quality of Children's Health Care: A Prerequisite to Action
Pediatrics, January 1, 2004; 113(1/S1): 185 - 198.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]