Mission

The Pediatric Obesity Health Services Research Work Group focuses on the advancement of the study and implementation of pediatric obesity treatment and research methodologies among health practitioners, researchers, decision makers, government staff, health economists, evaluators, and community members and leaders.

The mission of the Pediatric Obesity Health Services Research Work Group is to advance the equitable prevention and treatment of childhood obesity and co-occurring conditions in the United States.

This work group aims to build a network of interdisciplinary members to synergize efforts, identify and answer gaps, and advance implementation of evidence-based practices and policies for pediatric obesity prevention and treatment.

Objectives

• Cultivate high quality health services and implementation science research and increase evaluation capacity focused on the treatment and management of pediatric obesity
• Identify and describe disparities in accessing and engaging in pediatric obesity prevention and treatment to reduce barriers, improve acceptability to caregivers, catalyze action, and promote health equity
• Inform policies and practices that improve medical and public health practice and healthcare reimbursement and program sustainability for pediatric obesity
• Connect researchers, evaluators, public health practitioners, non-profit organizations, individuals with lived experience, and healthcare providers to raise awareness and advance the dissemination of evidence-based pediatric obesity policies, programs, and practices into clinical and community settings
• Disseminate timely, state of science methodologies, tools, and other resources that facilitate utility of EHR data for pediatric health services research
• Evaluate cost-effectiveness of childhood obesity treatments and inform recommendations to scale and spread state reimbursement policies