American Academy of Pediatrics Issues New Report on Military Children

 

Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva

A physician with a juris doctor and advanced degrees in business, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva has worked in the health care field for over three decades. Since 2012, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva has served as associate executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

A recent report issued by AAP provides updated recommendations for physicians who care for children of military families. The report, which appears in the January 2019 issue of the journal Pediatrics, updates 2013 guidelines that identify best practices for meeting the physical and mental health needs of military children who receive care in both military and civilian medical centers.

According to the report, military children move geographic locations as frequently as every two years. Research has shown that these frequent moves can lead to an increase in mental health encounters and emergency department visits. Studies have also shown that some military children are at higher risk of maltreatment and substance abuse.

To better support military children, the recent AAP report recommends that physicians work closely with military programs and community-based resources that help families of deployed service members. The report also recommends that physicians establish clinical processes within their own practices to identify military children and document their parents’ deployment and mental health histories. More information about the report and other recent work from AAP is available at www.aap.org.

AAP and the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units

Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units
Image: aap.org

Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva works as a pediatrics professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin in tandem with his role as associate executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). At AAP, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva has led initiatives in a number of areas, including environmental health.

For more than six decades, AAP has been addressing pediatric environmental health issues such as lead poisoning and water and air pollution. Over the years, the organization has expanded its efforts to focus on other topics, including the health effects of mold, BPA and PCB exposure, and climate change.

Today, AAP works in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, and American College of Medical Toxicology to oversee a national network of Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSUs). The North American PEHSU network helps health care providers, parents, government agencies, and community organizations protect children and adolescents from environmental hazards.

For its part, AAP establishes and supports PEHSUs in federal regions 1-5, which cover the eastern United States from Wisconsin and Mississippi to Florida, Virginia, Maine, and other states in between. In addition to addressing questions regarding the health impacts of various environmental factors, AAP and PEHSUs across the country provide guidance during natural disasters, health news events, and community hearings.

The AAP’s Child Safety Seat Recommendations

 

Child Safety Seat
Image: aap.org

Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva earned a bachelor’s in medicine from the Armed Forces Medical College in India and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Texas School of Public Health. Now with more than 30 years of experience in medicine, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva serves as the associate executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Child safety seat recommendations have evolved over the years with the improvement of safety technology and insights gained from crash data. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics updated its list of recommendations for parents. Among these recommendations, the organization urges parents to place their infants and toddlers in rear-facing seats until they reach the maximum height and weight, rather than turning them around to front-facing when they reach a certain age.

When children grow enough to switch to front-facing seats, they should be secured by harnesses for as long as possible. Children can still be harnessed in most seats until they reach around 65 pounds. After that, parents should put them in booster seats that allow the normal seat belt to fit properly.

Once children are able to use the seat belt normally, without assistance from a booster, they should remain in the backseat until they are at least 13 years old.

AAP Recommends Flu Shots

 

Flu Shots
Image: webmd.com

A distinguished pediatric professional with more than three decades of experience, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva serves as associate executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). In this role, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva helps support policy initiatives and oversees education outreach efforts.

The AAP recently recommended that children over the age of six months get the flu shot. The severity of the 2017-2018 flu season saw the most pediatric deaths in recent memory. Vaccination remains the most effective method of preventing the flu, a disease that can have a devastating effect on even healthy children. The vaccine also provides “herd immunity,” in that it protects immunocompromised children who, for one reason or another, can’t receive the vaccine.

Nasal sprays are also an option, though in recent years they have not been as effective against the A/H1N1 strain of the infection. In the interest of having the most people vaccinated, the AAP and the Centers for Disease Control support the use of nasal sprays, but still urge the shot as the most comprehensive form of vaccination.

To read the AAP’s recommendations in full, visit pediatrics.aappublications.org.

AAP Warns of Golf Cart Dangers

 

Golf Cart Dangers
Image: aappublications.org

A graduate of the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India, Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva also holds numerous postgraduate degrees, including an MBA from the University of Houston, a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Texas, and a juris doctor from Marquette University. Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva now serves as the associate executive director of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

According to research from the AAP, there has been a rise in injuries among children using golf carts. The researchers examined data from Pennsylvania in their findings, which showed 108 kids under 18 over a 10-year period who suffered golf cart-related injuries.

Of those patients, one died, and 36 percent were required to be admitted to the ICU because of their injuries. Additionally, 76 percent of those injured suffered at least one bone break, with skull fractures the most common.

Although golf carts move slower than cars, they are still dangerous. The AAP now recommends that children under 16 not drive golf carts at all, while those 16 to 18 should drive carts no faster than 10 miles per hour.

AAP Childhood and Poverty Advocacy

American Academy of Pediatrics
Image: aap.org

Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva serves as associate executive director with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Under the oversight of experienced professionals like Dr. Ramesh Sachdeva, the AAP seeks to advance the situation of pediatric practitioners and patients across the country through advocacy and education.

One major component of AAP’s advocacy work focuses on poverty, and particularly on its effects on medical care access for young people and their families. This element of AAP advocacy crosses many areas, including public assistance, housing aid, and education.

The AAP supports the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, both of which significantly reduce the impact of family poverty. It also supports public health assistance through nutrition aid, such as free or reduced-cost school lunches and general food aid.

Other AAP early childhood initiatives focus on access to child care and early childhood education. These programs help families escape poverty and in turn avoid the negative health outcomes associated with poverty. Programs like Head Start and state child care assistance programs are a priority for the AAP.