Pediatrics & Pulmonary Network: Improving Health Together

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PROJECT SUMMARY Despite improvements in air quality, decreases in smoking rates, and innovations in healthcare, respiratory health remains a problem in the United States with a high prevalence of respiratory disorders and many individuals with suboptimal lung function. Sleep disorders in children are also increasing, affecting both social- behavioral development and long-term morbidity. Disproportionate declines in health have occurred in populations with socioeconomic disparities and in underrepresented minorities. Identifying and decreasing health disparities remain a challenge in both research and clinical care. In order to identify lung and sleep disorders early and address these urgent issues in pulmonary health and health inequity, we must build collaborations between subspecialists, general pediatricians, schools, communities, and families. To foster these collaborations and improve care, we propose an in-person meeting focused on building a research and clinical care agenda in respiratory health in children. We have previously identified key opportunities to improve pulmonary and sleep health including A) Developing longitudinal childhood cohorts to evaluate factors that affect pulmonary and sleep health, B) Improving diagnostic measures by implementing existing biomarkers and developing and testing novel biomarkers of pulmonary and sleep health, C) Improving the implementation of pulmonary and sleep-focused patient reported outcomes, electronic health records and large data sets, and mobile/wearable technologies within general pediatric practices, and D) Improving pulmonary function testing within young children. The objectives of this conference are to summarize critical knowledge gaps and key steps to improve respiratory health in the population, create a partnership between pediatrics and pulmonologists as the Pediatric & Pulmonary Network, address social inequities affecting respiratory health in both clinical care and research, and promote the future of the workforce including junior investigators interested in respiratory health. Anticipated products of the meeting are competitive interdisciplinary grant applications, new guideline development, and conference manuscripts detailing identified priorities. This meeting is relevant to the mission of the NIH as it aims to develop a research and clinical care agenda that will have impacts to health across the lifespan by improving respiratory health in childhood.