LAUnCH Resident Accomplishments

LAUnCH residents have received many accolades for their work. Their projects have been grant funded by the AAP Resident CATCH Grant, the HRSA Primary Care Expansion Grant and the Children’s National Child Health Center Board Grant, among others. They have presented their findings nationally and internationally, and they have published in Academic Pediatrics, Pediatric Emergency Care, MedEd PORTAL and many other peer-reviewed sources.

Past REACH Projects

Creation of a program to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy and decrease the transmission of sexually transmitted infections among adolescents in Ward 8
A project assessing value-based care in pediatric oncology
A breastfeeding needs assessment in Washington, D.C.
Evaluation of a student navigator program aimed at promoting nutrition education and addressing food insecurity in Washington, D.C.
Community acceptance and patient use of a mobile phone messaging program to improve hospitalization follow-up in Quito, Ecuador
A study evaluating visits to the Children’s National Emergency Department by children and adolescent in police custody
An educational intervention project aimed at closing the mental health gap for primary care physicians in pediatric community health centers
A project related to development, implementation, and outcomes of the Children’s National Service-Learning Curriculum
A project exploring COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in under-resourced communities

Leadership in Advocacy, the Underserved, and Community Health (LAUnCH) Track Resident Accomplishments

LAUnCH residents have also had exciting successes outside of research, especially within advocacy and policy. Residents have:

Published a letter to the editor in the Washington Post advocating for insurance coverage for SMART therapy for asthma
Submitted written or oral testimony in the local legislatures on important child health topics such as poverty, food insecurity, mental health and housing instability
Visited the Capitol to talk with legislators directly on issues such as Medicaid and the Emergency Services for Children Program
Written compelling articles in the Child Health Advocacy Institute News and Views blog about their advocacy areas of interest
Served in local and national leadership positions in organizations advocating for climate change and other critical issues
Researched and designed a policy brief on the specific issues which they shared with a key contact within the DC Department of Healthcare Financing, which subsequently led to a formulary change for DC Medicaid and improved coverage for children with asthma across the District