American Academy of Pediatrics Mission and Strategic Plan

AAP Mission

The mission of the AAP is to attain optimal physical, mental and social health and well being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults. To accomplish this mission, the AAP shall support the professional needs of its members.

AAP Vision

Children have optimal health and well-being and are valued by society. Academy members practice the highest quality health care and experience professional satisfaction and personal well-being.

AAP Core Values

The AAP believes:

In the inherent worth of all children; they are our most enduring and vulnerable legacy.
Children deserve optimal health and the highest quality health care.
Pediatricians and subspecialists are the best qualified to provide child health care.
Multidisciplinary teams including patients and families are integral to delivering the highest quality health care.
The AAP is the organization to advance child health and well-being and the profession of pediatrics.

Strategic Initiatives

The selection of AAP Strategic Initiatives will support organizational focus on the most important and emergent issues impacting child health and the profession of pediatrics. Initiatives have a strong affinity with the mission, core values and vision of the AAP and align to the Strategic Plan.

The AAP Board of Directors approved four strategic initiatives for 2024:

Healthy Mental and Emotional Development

The AAP Board of Directors approved Healthy Mental and Emotional Development as a strategic initiative in 2022.

In 2021, the AAP joined the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association in declaring a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health, which brought attention to a growing mental health crisis amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The AAP established a Council on Healthy Mental and Emotional Development to lead these efforts. In addition, the AAP created a Pediatric Mental Health Education Center to expand the capacity of pediatricians and care systems to address the mental health needs of our nation’s children and teens, which will offer a multi-modal learning portfolio of knowledge-sharing, skills acquisition and longitudinal learning collaboratives.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The AAP Board of Directors approved Equity, Diversity and Inclusion as a strategic initiative in 2022.

Equity, diversity and inclusion has been a longtime focus for the AAP. This work is rooted in the Equity Agenda, which was approved in 2020 and is based on several foundational policy statements including the Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health, Truth, Reconciliation, and Transformation: Continuing on the Path to Equity and Eliminating Race-Based Medicine.

The AAP is exercising national thought leadership in Race-Conscious Approaches to Clinical Guidance, Policy and Research through two major grant projects from the Doris Duke and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations.

Safety and Wellbeing within the Pediatric Profession

The AAP Board of Directors approved Safety and Wellbeing within the Pediatric Profession as a strategic initiative in 2023.

In 2024, The Task Force on Safety & Wellbeing was named, comprised of members who have experienced adversity in practice, experts in the field of wellbeing and safety and are diverse regarding race, age, geography, practice setting and lived experiences.

The task force is charged with the following:

Identifying key drivers impacting wellbeing and safety of pediatricians.
Identifying short, medium and long-term opportunities to enhance wellbeing and safety.
Identifying what unique role(s) the AAP should play in the above opportunities while identifying key partners to address pediatrician needs.

Members of the task force will consider how recommendations relate to the strategic plan and equity implementation plan. They will also consider how specialty, practice type, geography, race/ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation and ability inform this work.

Environmental Health and Disaster Readiness

The AAP Board of Directors added Environmental Health and Disasters Response as a strategic initiative in 2024.

Children are uniquely susceptible to environmental hazards' health effects, including climate change, extreme weather events, air pollution and other hazards in home, school and childcare environments. The negative impact of environmental hazards and disasters are compounded for children and communities who already experience adverse social drivers of health, including poverty, racism and barriers to quality health care, making environmental health a key equity and justice concern.

An updated “Climate Change and Children’s Health: Building a Healthy Future for Every Child” policy statement has been published, providing a foundation for Academy education and advocacy efforts. A workplan for this new initiative is under development.

Strategic Plan

AAP’s goals and objectives build on organizational baseline strengths and identify how the Academy will adapt to the myriad of changes in its broader operating environment in ways that ensure its continued leadership championing U.S. children's health and well-being.

2024 Goals and Objectives

GOAL #1: Strengthen the Academy’s impact on health and health equity for infants, children, adolescents and young adults through clinical guidance, policy, advocacy and education.

Objectives

1.1. Develop and disseminate content on mitigating racism and promoting equity, diversity and inclusion across all clinical guidance, policy, advocacy and education.

1.2. Utilize data and metrics to develop and prioritize specific needs for child health policy.

1.3. Develop and implement timely, accurate, evidence-based policies.

1.4. Incorporate lessons from the COVID-19 rapid response in addressing child health emergencies and other pressing issues.

1.5. Enhance the Academy’s impact by continuing to collaborate with US and global stakeholders in clinical guidance, policy, advocacy and education.

GOAL #2: Enrich and promote member value and engagement.

Objectives

2.1. Attract and represent a diverse membership by serving their evolving needs based on key data and metrics.

2.2. Enhance and provide state-of-the-art pediatric practice and management resources in the context of a changing industry and professional landscape.

2.3. Promote wellbeing and safety of all members.

2.4. Enhance and strengthen relationships with US and global stakeholders, medical societies and other child health providers.

GOAL #3: Broaden and diversify leadership pathways for general pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical specialists and trainees within the Academy and the broader public sphere.

Objectives

3.1. Utilize EDI principles to diversify the Academy’s board of directors to represent a broader array of Academy members.

3.2. Review the role and structure of Academy leadership positions and pathways to facilitate broader access to leadership opportunities.

3.3. Foster participation in leadership by historically under-represented member groups at all levels of the Academy.

3.4. Cultivate members’ leadership skills and support their participation as leaders in evolving healthcare systems and other settings beyond the Academy.

GOAL #4: Enhance the Academy’s communication and information sharing with members, stakeholders and public.

Objectives

4.1. Ensure that the Academy’s digital platform is user-focused, user-friendly and data informed.

4.2. Prioritize equitable, multi-directional communication and information sharing among the Academy members, leaders, Board and staff.

4.3. Provide clinicians with current, user-friendly point-of-care resources that are free of bias and draw upon the highest quality, peer-reviewed clinical information available.

4.4. Strengthen member, stakeholder and public awareness regarding the Academy’s resources and successes in child health.

4.5. Actively address mis- and disinformation concerning pediatric health and the AAP.

GOAL #5: Support strong relationships, interactions and leadership development between AAP and chapters.

Objectives

5.1. Collaborate with chapters and districts on implementing EDI best practices.

5.2. Continue to support chapters with meaningful tools for financial and organizational success.

5.3. Assist chapters with member recruitment, retention and EDI goals.

5.4. Foster alignment of the national and chapter strategic goals and child health priorities.

5.5. Foster alignment of federal and state advocacy initiatives.

GOAL #6: Continuously improve AAP member activities in education, advocacy and policy by strengthening the structure and function of committees, councils, and sections.

Objectives

6.1. Encourage diversity and inclusion of all kinds among committee, council and section members and promote diversity in leadership roles within AAP.

6.2 Align entities to support optimal collaboration.

6.3. Improve the linkage and communication between AAP policymaking entities and the Board.

6.4. Improve members knowledge of the structure and operations of committees, councils and sections and opportunities for leadership and engagement.

6.5. Optimize committee, council and section operations and integration with routine evaluation and oversight.

The work of the AAP is guided by its organizational mission and vision and operates under this AAP Strategic Plan approved by the Board of Directors. The goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan serve to guide overall programmatic direction and cascade through the organization to specific initiatives and focus.

At least annually, the Board reviews the organization’s mission and vision, examines data on the demographics and status of children and families as well as the profession of pediatrics, and reviews larger trends in medicine and the outside environment, as they affect the AAP, its members and children and families. Following this annual review, the Board will make any necessary updates or revisions to the Strategic Plan goals and objectives to allow for continuous improvement and responsiveness to changes in the environment or emergent priorities.

Last Updated

09/16/2024

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics