The mission of the new Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing is to advance the health and wellbeing of infants, children, adolescents, young adults, and their families, particularly those in underserved communities locally and globally. The center seeks to catalyze innovative ideas, strategies, and collaborations in research, practice, policy, and educational scholarship that support the next generation of scholars, clinicians, and policy makers. It advances the values and principles of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and its institutional and community partners and our commitment to an equitable and evidence-based future for children, youth, and their families.
“The center has brought together an amazing group of scholars who share a passion to improve the lives of young people and their families.”
Co-directed by Deborah Gross, DNSc, MS, RN, FAAN, the Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Eliana Perrin, MD, MPH, FAAP, who has appointments in the Schools of Medicine (Pediatrics) and Nursing, the center gathers the strength and breadth of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing faculty—with a key assist from several Johns Hopkins medical and public health partners—to address all aspects of helping children and communities thrive.
Center faculty bring deep education, research, clinical, and advocacy expertise on a wide range of health issues affecting infants, children, and youth, many of which disproportionately affect those living in poverty. Focal areas include: breastfeeding and lactation; child and youth mental health; children and youth in foster care; children and youth with disabilities; nutrition and obesity prevention; parenting and family interventions; pediatric acute and critical care; pediatric primary care; perinatal and postpartum health; school health; sexual and reproductive health; social, structural, economic, environmental determinants of health; trauma and trauma-informed care.
“This is the first center at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing solely devoted to advancing science, practice, and policies affecting the health and wellbeing of infants, children, youth, and their families from underserved communities,” emphasizes Gross. “The center has brought together an amazing group of scholars who share a passion to improve the lives of young people and their families.”
Adds Perrin: “I think that it’s really one of those entities where the whole will truly be greater than the sum of its parts. There are so many wonderful people across the School of Nursing, and affiliated with it, who care deeply about the issues affecting children and their families and engage in practice, advocacy, education, and research around these issues. When we are all working together, riffing off each other, being inspired by each other, we will truly be able to reach our full potential—and that will bring great dividends to health and health equity for children and their families.”◼