Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting returns with ‘rich’ program

Key takeaways:

• PAS 2023 will feature a “rich” variety of abstracts, the program chair said.
• The conference includes themes of overcoming racism, misinformation and effects of policy on care.

WASHINGTON — The themes of year’s Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting address overcoming racism in practice, misinformation, and the impact of policy on health and research, the program chair told Healio.

The conference — a yearly collaboration between the AAP, American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research and the Academic Pediatrics Association — runs from April 28 to May 1.

“As we build the PAS program, we consider the needs and interests of the 70-plus specialties and subspecialties of academic pediatrics that come together at the meeting,” PAS program chair Judith Shaw, EdD, MPH, RN, FAAP, a professor of general pediatrics at University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine, told Healio. “We choose exciting science and emerging innovations from across the broad academic pediatrics community so there is something for everyone — from generalist to specialist and at each stage of career.”

Shaw said each of the conference’s three themes “highlights a broad issue of interest across the full spectrum of pediatric research, science and education.”

They come together in a “rich” program, Shaw said, that starts with an opening session featuring keynote speaker Wanda Barfield, MD, MPH, director of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, and the presentation of the conference’s 2023 Jospeh W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award to Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH, professor and vice dean at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine.

New to the schedule is a joint presidential plenary session, where the heads of the conference’s four core partner societies will each give an address on the conference’s themes.

“But that is only day 1!” Shaw said. “ The program has so much to offer the attendees, and I find myself attending the sessions in my field but stretching and attending sessions outside of my knowledge base. My favorites are the poster sessions, which are such a rich time to interact with attendees, especially the trainees. Their enthusiasm and excitement is impossible to resist! I learn so much and come away energized and eager to learn even more.”

We compiled a sampling of stories and videos from the 2022 conference:

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in autism caregivers decreased over time

J. Kiely Law, MD, MPH, director of research operations at the Simons Foundation, and colleagues reported that that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy waned over time for caregivers of children with autism. Read more.

Text, phone messages minimally effective in re-engaging adolescents in primary care

Mary Burkhardt, MD, MHA, associate division director of primary care at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and colleagues reported that text and phone messages were minimally effective at re-engaging adolescents in preventive services. Read more.

Mental health visits more common at pediatric clinics during pandemic

Jane C. Bittner Gould, MPH, CPH, a senior project manager at Boston Children's Hospital, and colleagues reported that mental health visits to pediatric clinics — including for eating disorders, depression and bipolar disorders — were more common during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

Common pediatric infections returned in 2021, study finds

Jonathan Hatoun, MD, MPH, MS, director of analytics for research and quality at the Pediatric Physicians' Organization at Children's Hospital Wellesley in Massachusetts, reported that as social interactions increased with in-person classes and other activities, clinicians saw a return of many common infections. Read more.