Department of Research

The Division of Health Services Research carries out projects that provide a variety of data on the characteristics of pediatricians and the health services provided to children. The Division houses the Periodic Survey of Fellows that routinely gathers data from AAP members on current topics in pediatrics and the Graduating Resident Survey that monitors residents' training and job search experiences. The Division also conducts research on children's health insurance, the pediatric workforce, and health literacy.

The Division of Primary Care Research is the home of the Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) program. Established in 1986, PROS is the Academy's practice-based research network designed to improve the health of children by conducting collaborative research with almost 2,000 practitioner members from across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to enhance primary care practice. Staff from the division provide technical expertise and support for the execution of research projects developed by the network. PROS practitioners and researchers work together to generate research questions, design study materials and protocols, obtain research funding, collect study data, analyze collected data and publish results. Since its inception, PROS has studied child health topics as diverse as the prevalence of preschool vision screening, the onset of secondary sexual characteristics in young girls and the immunization status of children seen in private practice. The network is currently working on a variety of projects, including studies on practitioner evaluation and management of injuries suspicious for abuse, development and testing of an intervention to help prevent child violence, and testing of interventions to address underimmunization of African Americans. Any physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant in practice with an AAP Fellow is eligible to join PROS. Practitioners must have completed their training.

The Child Health Measurement Project (CHMP) is a multifaceted effort to enhance and advance the field of pediatric health measurement. Project activities include the development, testing, and dissemination of instruments for several of the most common and/or severe pediatric illnesses/conditions, as well as efforts to understand the complexities of children as reporters of their own health status. The Child Health Measurement Project is also involved in work aimed at rethinking the ways in which well-child care is currently provided.