The Johns Hopkins School of Nursing has established a Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing. This is the first center at the School of Nursing dedicated solely to advancing science, practice, and policies affecting the health and wellbeing of infants, children, adolescents, young adults, and their families, with a focus on underserved communities locally and globally.
Co-directed by Deborah Gross, DNSc, RN, FAAN, Leonard and Helen R. Stulman Professor in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, and Eliana Perrin, MD, MPH, FAAP, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, the center unites the expertise of faculty from the School of Nursing and several Johns Hopkins medical partners to create a multidisciplinary approach to helping children and families thrive.
“Our mission is to advance the health and wellbeing of children and youth, especially those from underserved communities,” says Gross. “We have brought together an extraordinary team of scholars who share a passion for improving young lives through research, practice, policy, and education.”
Perrin emphasizes the center’s collaborative spirit: “This is a place where the whole will truly be greater than the sum of its parts. We’re bringing together amazing individuals to innovate in practice, advocacy, education, and research. Together, we will achieve incredible strides in health equity for children and their families.”
This groundbreaking initiative reflects the values and principles of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and its commitment to fostering an equitable and evidence-based future for the next generation.
The Center focuses on a wide range of critical areas, including:
- Breastfeeding and lactation
- Child and youth mental health
- Foster care
- 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, and environmental determinants of health
- Trauma and trauma-informed care
Learn more about the Johns Hopkins Center for Equity in Child and Youth Health and Wellbeing.