Division of Child Health Research and Policy (CHeRP)

Equity is defined as all children having a fair and just opportunity to reach their full health potential. Our research assesses disparities in:

• The prevalence and incidence of health conditions
• Enrollment in clinical trials
• Timely diagnosis and treatment
• Access to high quality care

Genomics involves the study of the human genome, and how genes contribute to the development of health conditions. Our team is conducting patient- and population-level studies regarding: 

• Clinical and economic evaluations of genomic screening interventions
• Decision-maker preferences for genomic sequencing outcomes
• Frameworks for implementing genomic sequencing into clinical care
• Ethical, legal, and social considerations when integrating precision medicine into clinical care
• Care coordination and management for children with rare, genetic diseases
• Measuring health outcomes and resource utilization for children who have been evaluated for genetic conditions

Health policy is defined as the regulations, decisions, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within society. Our research studies:  

• Health insurance offerings and choice
• The relationship between health insurance and health outcomes
• The impact of state- and national-level health policies on population health
• Ethical considerations for policymaking

Medical Decision Making involves studying how patients, clinicians, payers, and/or policymakers make decisions about the use and allocation of health care resources in complex scenarios. We conduct studies about: 

• The cost and cost-effectiveness of screening, prevention, and treatment interventions
• The natural history and future trajectory of health conditions under different policy or treatment scenarios
• How decision makers value different policies, services, or outcomes
• Health-related quality of life for children and their caregivers
• Health communication

Quality of care research studies the degree to which health services increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes. Our research addresses the following elements of quality for a range of chronic health conditions:

• Effectiveness, providing evidence-based services to all who could benefit while minimizing misuse of services
• Safety, avoiding harm to patients
• Timeliness, reducing wait times to avoid potentially harmful delays
• Efficiency, avoiding waste in the health care system
• Patient-centeredness, providing care that is respectful of and responsive to patient preferences, needs, and values
• Equity, providing care that does not vary in quality because of a patient’s personal characteristics