The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all infants and young children be screened for developmental delays as part of ongoing well child care. In this free archived Web conference, participants discuss strategies that clinicians can use to perform developmental surveillance and screening. The presenters answer questions submitted by pediatricians and discuss screening tools and other useful resources.
The Issue: Because pediatricians see children during routine office visits, they have many opportunities to assess their development, educate parents, intervene when they find problems, and coordinate care. But that's easier said than done: pediatricians face many barriers, including time constraints, low reimbursement, and inadequate training in developmental health. According to a recent national survey, just over half of parents say their child has ever had a developmental assessment during a pediatric visit.
Organization: Medscape
Target Audiences: Child health care providers
The Intervention: This online conference presents strategies for making developmental and behavioral screening an integral part of child health care. The conference is moderated by Edward L. Schor, M.D., vice president of the Fund's Child Development and Preventive Care program.
The first presenter is Paul Dworkin, M.D., physician-in-chief for Connecticut Children's Medical Center. In his presentation, "Early Detection of Developmental Problems: How Do You 'Measure Up'?," Dworkin defines the concept of developmental surveillance, discusses its key components, including screening, and reviews strategies for linking children and their families to needed programs and services in the community.
The second presenter is Marian F. Earls, M.D., F.A.A.P., medical director of North Carolina's Guilford Child Health. In her presentation, "Developmental & Behavioral Screening: A Quality Improvement Initiative in Primary Care Practice," Earls discusses strategies for implementing developmental screening procedures and tools that providers can use to turn parents into "reporters" on their child's development.
This web conference was available for continuing medical education credit by Medscape between October 2004 and October 2005. During this time, 74,619 clinicians viewed the Web page and 2,951 obtained CME credit.
For Further Information: Contact Edward L. Schor, M.D., vice president of the Fund's Child Development and Preventive Care program, at [email protected]. For other webcasts in this series on screening, "Screening for Maternal Depression: An Opportunity for Providers of Pediatric Healthcare" and "Child Behavior Screening in Primary Care," visit Medscape.