AAP Department of Communications Contact: Debbie Linchesky, 847-434-7084, or Mindy Weinstein, 847-434-7131.

(Please do not reply directly to this e-mail, as you will not receive a response. Contact Debbie Linchesky at dlinchesky@aap.org or Mindy Weinstein at mweinstein@aap.org if you have questions about the contents of this mailing.)

Information in this mailing is embargoed for release: Monday, April 2, 12:01 am ET. PLEASE RESPECT THE EMBARGO DATE

In this mailing:

The Table of Contents (TOC) from the April issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and Pediatrics electronic pages, the Internet extension of Pediatrics. These are available electronically and can be viewed at:

Current issue TOC:
http://www.pediatrics.org/current.shtml
Future issue TOC:
http://www.pediatrics.org/future.shtml

Also in this mailing:
1. Juvenile Detention Centers Not Making the Grade
2. First-Time Head Injury May Predict Subsequent Head Injuries
3. Parental Depression Costly for Children
4. Pneumonia Vaccine Decreases Frequent Ear Infections and Tubes
5. Race Plays Important Role in Fatal Injuries Among Children
6. Random Drug Testing Under the Microscope
7. New York SCHIP Works
8. Pediatric Drugs Urgently Needed to Treat Children With HIV - AAP
Policy Statement
9. AAP 2007 Art Contest
10. Cover the Uninsured Week, April 23 - 29
11. National Infant Immunization Week, April 21 - 28
12. Child Abuse Prevention Month
13. TV-Turnoff Week
14. AAP Honors Healthy Environments for Children
15. Sports Injury Prevention Tips

SAVE THE DATE: PEDIATRIC ACADEMIC SOCIETIES MEETING
The annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) is May 5 -
8 in Toronto The state of children's health will be the focus of more
than 3,000 presentations to nearly 6,000 leaders in pediatric research,
advocacy and patient care from around the world. The conference is
co-sponsored by the members of the PAS: American Pediatric Society,
Society for Pediatric Research, Ambulatory Pediatric Association and
American Academy of Pediatrics. Several pediatric specialty
organizations will be holding their annual meetings in conjunction with
the conference. For more information, go to http://www.pas-meeting.org/
For press passes, contact Debbie Linchesky at 847-434-7084,
dlinchesky@aap.org

===================================

Below are news releases and briefs on articles appearing in the April
issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). To receive the full text of these
articles, contact the AAP Department of Communications. The embargo
date for all information in this mailing is Monday, April 2, 12:01 am
ET.

AAP Contact: Debbie Linchesky, 847-434-7084, dlinchesky@aap.org or
Mindy Weinstein, 847-434-7131, mweinstein@aap.org

Note: Please attribute the source as the journal, Pediatrics when
covering the following studies.

1. JUVENILE DETENTION CENTERS NOT MAKING THE GRADE

Despite an AAP recommendation published in 2001, just 53 of the 3,500
juvenile justice residential facilities in the United States received
accreditation for adequate facility health care in 2006. Upwards of 1.3
million medically underserved young people pass through these facilities
each year. The results from the study, "Can Juvenile Justice
Detention Facilities Meet the Call of the American Academy of Pediatrics
and National Commission on Correctional Health Care? A National Analysis
of Current Practices," determined that the low levels of accreditation
indicate substandard care. The study of all 726 U.S. juvenile detention
centers concluded that only 13-18 percent of facilities made vision,
dental, or gynecological services available to all adolescents. More
alarming is the low level of testing for infectious and communicable
diseases. Because these adolescents are at a greater risk for nearly
every type of condition, many of which are transmittable and life
altering, a Federal Initiative on Juvenile Justice Health is being
developed to address the public health importance of providing care to
this population.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

2. FIRST-TIME HEAD INJURY MAY PREDICT SUBSEQUENT HEAD INJURIES

Children with an initial head injury were nearly twice as likely to
experience another head injury within the next six months, compared to
children who sustained a non head-related injury. The study,
"Previous Head Injury Is a Risk Factor for Subsequent Head Injury
in Children: A Longitudinal Cohort Study," interviewed the parents of
11,867 children ages one to 18 years who were treated for injuries in
two Montreal emergency departments. A total of 245 and 386 head-injured
children sustained a subsequent head injury within 6 and 12 months,
respectively. Most injuries in children are mild and they are able to
return to their previous activities. Some, however, are serious and
can cause long-term cognitive, physical and emotional problems. The
authors assert that since the majority of subsequent head injuries
occurred 5 or 6 months after the initial head injury, the standard
four-week activity limitation after a head injury may need to be
reexamined.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

3. PARENTAL DEPRESSION COSTLY FOR CHILDREN

In "Association Between Parental Depression and Children's Health
Care Use," researchers found that having at least one depressed parent
increases use of expensive health care services such as emergency
department visits and inpatient services. The study examined all
healthcare use between 1997-2002 of almost 70,000 children 0-17 years of
age, 25,000 of whom had at least one parent with a diagnosis of
depression. Teenagers of depressed parent(s) showed a decrease in
well-child care visits, but increased visits to emergency departments
and specialty clinics. Infants of depressed parent(s) had 14 percent
more sick visits than those of parents who were not depressed. Findings
indicate conducting routine screening for and treatment of parental
depression will result in fewer emergency department visits and other
less costly health care practices for their children.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

4. PNEUMONIA VACCINE DECREASES FREQUENT EAR INFECTIONS AND TUBES

A new study found that after routine use of the pneumococcal conjugate
vaccine began in 2000, children were less likely to develop frequent ear
infections or need pressure-equalizing tubes inserted in their ears.
Authors of the study, "Reduction of Frequent Otitis Media and
Pressure-Equalizing Tube Insertions in Children After Introduction of
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine," tracked data from birth through age 5
in children enrolled in health insurance programs in Tennessee (150,122)
and in upstate New York (26,409). They found that by age two, the
proportion of children who developed frequent ear infections and the
proportion who received ear tubes declined by 16 percent in Tennessee
and 25 percent in New York.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

5. RACE PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE IN FATAL INJURIES AMONG CHILDREN

Over 20 years of data shows black and American Indian/Alaskan Native
children had significantly higher rates of fatal injuries than white,
Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander children. The study "Twenty-Year
Trends in Fatal Injuries to Very Young Children: The Persistence of
Racial Disparities," examined injury-related mortality data from the
National Vital Statistics registration system for all 50 states, by race
for infants and children 0-4 years of age from 1981-2003. Disparities
narrowed for residential fire, pedestrian, and poisoning, but widened
for motor vehicle and suffocation for black and American Indian/Alaskan
Native children. Results indicate that injury prevention efforts need
to continue, along with new strategies and approaches to address areas
where racial disparities remain.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

EDITOR'S NOTE: A related study, "Injury-Prevention Counseling and
Behavior Among U.S. Children: Results From the Second Injury Control and
Risk Survey," found that children who received injury prevention
counseling practiced safer behaviors.

6. RANDOM DRUG TESTING UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

According to a new study, random drug tests performed at an adolescent
substance abuse program are at substantial risk for interpretation
error. In "Results of Random Drug Testing in an Adolescent Substance
Abuse Program," 710 urine drug tests were collected from adolescents and
young adults 13 to 21 years of age between December 2002 and July 2005.
Of these, 40 negative tests were too dilute to interpret properly and 45
of 217 positive tests resulted from use of legitimate prescription
medications; in total 85 tests were susceptible to either positive or
negative misinterpretation. This study demonstrates that drug testing is
a technically complex procedure that must be conducted under rigorously
defined criteria for proper collection, screening, and testing.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

7. NEW YORK SCHIP WORKS

The study, "Impact of the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) on Adolescents in New York," found that adolescents who
enrolled in New York's State SCHIP program had improved access, use,
and quality of health care. Adolescents' access to health care is
among the worst of all age groups, and relatively few interventions have
been effective in improving this situation. Researchers for the study
interviewed 970 adolescents and their parents over the phone shortly
after enrollment in SCHIP and again one year later. The proportion of
adolescents who reported having a usual source of care increased during
SCHIP compared with before (69.9 percent to 87. percent). The study,
however, found that SCHIP had the greatest impact on improving health
care access and quality for those who were previously uninsured, and
resulted in a reduction in disparities and access for black and Hispanic
youth.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2, at 12:01 am ET.]

8. PEDIATRIC DRUGS URGENTLY NEEDED TO TREAT CHILDREN WITH HIV

A new American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement outlines
solutions for overcoming barriers that prevent the quick diagnosis and
treatment of young children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). At
least 2.3 million children were living with HIV infection acquired at
birth at the end of 2005, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa. According
to the statement "Increasing Antiretroviral Drug Access for Children
with HIV infection," more readily available HIV tests and drugs in
appropriate pediatric formulations are urgently needed to improve
therapy for children with HIV, especially in less-developed areas of the
world. An unprecedented 19 other international child and health care
organizations, including the World Health Organization, endorsed the
statement.

[Embargoed until Monday, April 2 at 12:01 am ET.]

9. 2007 AAP ART CONTEST
The American Academy of Pediatrics is holding its annual children's
art contest. The contest is open to boys and girls in two age groups -
grades 3 to 5 and grades 6 to 8. The theme for this year's artwork is
"Things I Can Do To Keep Safe and Healthy." Two first place winners
and their families will be flown to the AAP National Conference and
Exhibition in San Francisco this October. In addition, the first place
winner in each age group will receive $500. Prizes of $250 will go to
the runner-up in both age groups. The schools of each first and second
place winner will also receive matching cash amounts An entry form is
available at http://www.aap.org

=============================================

10. OVER THE UNINSURED WEEK
"Cover the Uninsured Week", April 23-29, is a national public awareness
campaign supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This year's
focus is on covering America's children and demonstrating public support
for the State Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization. Go
to http://covertheuninsured.org/ for more information.

11. NATIONAL INFANT IMMUNIZATION WEEK, APRIL 21-28
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is an annual observance to
promote the benefits of immunizations and to focus on the importance of
immunizing infants against vaccine-preventable diseases by age two. This
year NIIW will again be held in conjunction with the Pan American Health
Organization's Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA), April 21-28. The
U.S. will join together with 39 countries in the Western Hemisphere to
concurrently promote the need for routine vaccinations for infants and
children. Additional information about NIIW and childhood vaccination is
available from CDC's National Immunization Program at
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/events/niiw/default.htm

12. CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and the AAP is a partner in the
US Department of Health and Human Services' campaign to keep children
safe and focus on helping families. As part of this effort, the
agency's Office of Child Abuse and Neglect and its National
Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, have created a
resource packet entitled, "Safe Children and Healthy Families are a
Shared Responsibility." These materials aim to support individuals,
organizations, and communities in their efforts to promote safe children
and healthy families and can be found at http://www.childwelfare.gov/

13. TV-TURNOFF WEEK
The AAP continues to support TV-Turnoff Week, this year from April
23-29. According to the Center for Screen-Time Awareness, many people
use this time to making lasting change in their viewing habits and
continue to watch less TV, choose what they do watch more carefully, and
engage in more screen-free activities. Turning off the television
provides more opportunities to think, read, create, and do It also helps
people connect with families and engage in community activities. For
more information on TV-Turnoff Week, visit http://www.tvturnoff.org

14. AAP HONORS HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS FOR CHILDREN
On April 26, a special 10th anniversary event will take place marking
Executive Order 13045, "Protection of Children from Environmental
Health Risks and Safety Risks." Prominent leaders in children's
environmental health will evaluate the progress made over the previous
ten years and begin to define priorities for the next decade. This
national seminar is sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Centers
for Disease Control (CDC). A videocast will be available via the
Internet following the event.

For more information, visit
http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/2007activities.htm.

15. SPORTS INJURY PREVENTION TIPS
Sports help children and adolescents keep their bodies fit and feel
good about themselves. American Academy of Pediatrics has some
important injury prevention tips that parents should be aware of to
promote a safe, optimal sports experience for their child. The tips can
be found in both English and Spanish at
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/aprsportsinjurytips.htm

=================================================

The FAAP designation following a pediatrician's name stands for Fellow
of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians with a FAAP
designation have obtained board certification in pediatrics and made an
ongoing commitment to lifelong learning and advocacy for children.

MEDIA REQUEST FORM

To request copies of AAP news releases, digests or briefs, or policy
statements and studies from Pediatrics, go to:
http://www.aap.org/mediamailing/mediarequestform.cfm?cp1=d5klm5

For more information on children's health, visit the AAP Press Room
at: http://www.aap.org/pressroom

If you choose not to receive this media mailing, send an e-mail message
to: aapmediamailing@aap.org with the phrase, "unsubscribe
mediamailing" in the text field.