Overview A growing body of research addresses the issue of “commercial sexual exploitation of children” (CSEC) and “child sex trafficking.” These overlapping terms describe crimes of a sexual nature committed against children and adolescents that involve exploitation for financial or other gain. Existing literature demonstrates that commercially sexually exploited youth typically experience significant and ongoing trauma. The literature teaches that these youths have a unique set of health risks, including violence-related injuries, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, and a variety of mental health problems. Though federal law defines these youth as victims of human trafficking, in many states, commercially sexually exploited children and adolescents are incarcerated for crimes related to their exploitation. Fear of incarceration can prevent victims from seeking available services. While health care providers may play a critical role in connecting commercially sexually exploited youth with community resources, most providers lack the knowledge of human trafficking necessary to fulfill this role effectively. Published research about this vulnerable pediatric population, although rapidly growing, is still extremely limited. Further research into the prevention, identification, intervention, and multidisciplinary management of CSEC and sex trafficking of children and adolescents is needed.

We used a community-based participatory research approach to develop, implement, and evaluate one of the first health curricula for female intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors residing at a transitional housing program. The curriculum comprised 12 workshops that were developed based on the survivors' experiences, needs, and interests. Evaluation participants included 20 of the 37 women who attended at least one workshop, 12 workshop facilitators, and two housing center staff. Participants found the curriculum to be engaging, interactive, and helpful in building a supportive community. Suggestions for curricular improvement as well as opportunities for further research and curricular development are discussed.

We sought to explore parental attitudes, behaviors, and barriers regarding school readiness in a county clinic serving low income, Latino children. Between December 2013–September 2014, we conducted a cross sectional survey of parents during 3–6 years well-child appointments about school readiness (SR) across: (1) attitudes/behaviors; (2) barriers; and (3) awareness; and (4) use of local resources. Most parents (n = 210, response rate 95.6%) find it very important/important for their child to know specific skills prior to school: take turns and share (98.5%), use a pencil and count (97.6%), know letters (99.1%), colors (97.1%), and shapes (96.1%). Over 80% of parents find education important and engage in positive SR behaviors: singing, practicing letters, or reading. Major barriers to SR were lack of knowledge for kindergarten readiness, language barriers, access to books at home, constraints on nightly reading, difficulty completing school forms, and limited free time with child. Awareness of local resources such as preschool programs was higher than actual utilization. These low-income, Latino parents value SR but lack knowledge to prepare their child for school and underutilize community resources such as free preschool programs. Pediatricians are uniquely positioned to address these needs, but more evidence-based interventions are needed.

We identified both medical and psychosocial concerns prevalent among adolescents with craniofacial microsomia. Although adolescents with craniofacial microsomia exhibit considerable resilience, the challenges they face impact their sense of self and should be addressed through psychosocial support and counseling. Further research should investigate the potential benefit of the wider use of hearing aids, as well as the involvement of patients in decision-making about reconstructive ear surgery.