Optimizing Care for Children With Special Health Care Needs: Knowledge and Strategies for Navigating the System

How can primary care physicians and other health care providers help families get the best care and services for young children with special health care needs (CSHCN)? They'll find the answers in this concise resource, a one-of-a-kind field guide to all the critical issues, policies, and practices affecting medical care for CSHCN from birth to age 5.

Blending knowledge gained from the cutting-edge research of nationally prominent scholars with the real-world experiences of front-line authorities such as parents, primary care physicians, and specialists, this book helps readers

• create efficient and consistent medical homes that are truly responsive to the needs of children and families
• build productive advocacy partnerships to bring about necessary changes in policy and programs
• understand what parents experience as they learn to navigate the complex health care system, adapt to family life with their child, and pinpoint the socio-cultural biases they may have to contend with
• grasp the complexities of insurance, financing, and other resource-related programs for CSHCN

Ideal for anyone who directly assists or works with families of CSHCN, this book will help providers effectively manage the health care system and optimize care for children with any kind of special health care needs.

Elisa J. Sobo, PhD, is Associate Professor in the anthropology department at San Diego State University (SDSU), and Senior Research Scientist for the Maternal and Child Health Initiative in SDSU's Graduate School of Public Health. She also is a Clinical Associate Professor in the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and a long-term Visiting Scholar in UCSD's department of anthropology. Dr. Sobo, an expert on the cultural context of health, illness, and medicine, has authored, co-authored, or co-edited nine books, and her articles have appeared in a wide variety of peer-reviewed journals, including Journal of Health Services Research, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, and Social Science and Medicine. Dr. Sobo serves on the board of the Society for Medical Anthropology, is a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and has served on the medical committee of the Royal Anthropological Institute.

Paul Kurtin, MD, a board certified adult and pediatric nephrologist, is Director of the Maternal Child Health Initiative at San Diego State University's Graduate School of Public Health, and Vice President for Clinical Innovation at CHHC. His research interests have focused on quality of care and outcomes assessment and management. Dr. Kurtin is the founding and continuing Medical Director of the Child Health Accountability Initiative. This collaborative of 17 children's hospitals works together to improve the care of hospitalized children and CSHCN. In his present position at CHHC, Dr. Kurtin focuses on designing, implementing, evaluating, and continuously improving health services throughout CHHC's integrated delivery system. He has spoken widely on these topics, including presentations at the IOM and numerous national meetings.