Objective It is critical that pediatric residents learn to effectively screen families for active and addressable social needs (i.e., negative social determinants of health.) We sought to determine 1) whether a brief intervention teaching residents about IHELP, a social needs screening tool, could improve resident screening, and 2) how accurately IHELP could detect needs in the inpatient setting. Methods During an 18-month period, interns rotating on one of two otherwise identical inpatient general pediatrics teams were trained in IHELP. Interns on the other team served as the comparison group. Every admission history and physical (H&P) was reviewed for IHELP screening. Social work evaluations were used to establish the sensitivity and specificity of IHELP and document resources provided to families with active needs. During a 21-month post-intervention period, every third H&P was reviewed to determine median duration of continued IHELP use. Results 619 admissions met inclusion criteria. Over 80% of intervention team H&Ps documented use of IHELP. The percentage of social work consults was nearly 3 times greater on the intervention team than on the comparison team (P<0.001). Among H&Ps with documented use of IHELP, specificity was 0.96 (95% CI 0.87–0.99) and sensitivity was 0.63 (95% CI 0.50–0.73). Social work provided resources for 78% of positively screened families. The median duration of screening use by residents after the intervention was 8.1 months (IQR 1–10 months) Conclusions A brief intervention increased resident screening and detection of social needs, leading to important referrals to address those needs.

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T he prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States is one in five children. An increase in prevalence continues in most categories of obesity across all age groups, in particular adolescents, with 41.5% of 16-to 19-year-olds affected by obesity (Skinner, Ravanbakht, Skelton, Perrin, & Armstrong, 2018). Obesity is associated with many health problems, with the most recognized being cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders. Gallbladder disease is an established obesity-related comorbidity in adults. Currently, the association between obesity and gallbladder disease is being studied in children and adolescents in light of the obesity epidemic (Mehta et al., 2012). The purpose of this review is to highlight an increasing cause of right upper quadrant pain in children and adolescents also affected by obesity.

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