​
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)
  • For information and guidance for health care professionals regarding COVID-19, click here​. 
  • For a list of frequently asked questions related to COVID-19 (including information related to 
    well-visits), click here. 
  • For families​, visit HealthyChildren.org​.
Bright Futures

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported, in part, by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)​, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)​. The Bright Futures Guidelines provide theory-based and evidence-driven guidance for all preventive care screenings and well-child visits. Bright Futures content can be incorporated into many public health programs such as home visiting, child care, school-based health clinics, and many others. Materials developed especially for families are also available.​  

 Features
  • For Professionals

    • Bright Futures Implementation Tip Sheets

      These NEW and UPDATED tip sheets offer practical advice to help you integrate the Bright Futures approach, tools and resources into your daily practice.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Tool and Resource Kit, 2nd Edition NEW!

      Completely updated Toolkit corresponding with the Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition, with key documents that work as an integrated system to assist a health care professional carry out an efficient Bright Futures health supervision visit.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Guidelines

      At your fingertips, this manual provides the most respected recommendations for the top 12 areas of child development in 1 volume, along with the most up-to-date well-child supervision standards by visit. PDF versions are now available for reference.Learn more

    • Medical Screening Reference Tables

      The tables provide an easy-to-use reference table for each Bright Futures well-child visit. Each table compiles the relevant history, risk assessment questions, and action to take if the risk assessment shows a positive result.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Webinars

      Make sure to sign up for the latest Bright Futures webinars beginning in April 2017. Learn about the revised and updated Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition from the editors themselves. Learn more

    • Bright Futures EQIPP Courses

      These courses are designed to help physicians interpret the Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents into everyday practice, with practical suggestions for implementation.Learn more

    • Implementing Bright Futures in Public Health

      Professionals can hear recorded audio stories of Bright Futures implementations and read highlights of how Bright Futures is being used by state agencies as the standard for well-child care and as essential content throughout many public health programs. Learn more

    • Performing Preventive Services

      Designed to accompany Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd Edition, this manual provides effective ways to deliver the preventive services that are suggested in the Guidelines.Learn more
  • For Families

    • The Well-Child Visit: Why Go and What to Expect

      This NEW handout, The Well-Child Visit: Why Go and What to Expect, helps families prepare for their regular check-ups. This tip sheet is available in English and Spanish.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Activity Book—Available in English and Spanish

      To encourage parent-child interaction, the Bright Futures Activity Book provides a fun, informative, and interactive overview of the 10 themes from the Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd Edition.Learn more

 Highlights and Announcements

  • February 11, 2021

    Virtual Office Hour Series:  Responding to the Pandemic of Mental Health Needs - Providing High-Quality Mental Health Care for Children and Adolescents via Telehealth

    Session 2: Considerations for Safety and Suicidality in a Telehealth Environment

    Date and Time: Wednesday, February 24th, 2021 | 12pm – 12:30pm CT ​

    Join pediatrician and addiction medicine specialist Lucien Gonzalez, MD, MS, FAAP and child and adolescent psychiatrist Elise Fallucco, MD, DFAACAP as they discuss important considerations for safety and suicidality in a telehealth environment. Dr Gonzalez and Dr Fallucco will share practical strategies that pediatric clinicians can use to evaluate patient confidentiality, assess suicide risk, and connect patients and families to resources via telehealth. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive Q and A session following the discussion. This series is being offered as part of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau-funded AAP initiative, “Supporting Providers and Families to Access Telehealth and Distant Care Services for Pediatric Care."​

    Register​​ here.


  • February 8, 2021

    AAP, FDA Release Videos About Vaping 

    The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food & Drug Administration have partnered to release three brief educational videos that feature advice from pediatricians about recognizing e-cigarettes, understanding health effects, and intervening with youth who are using these products. Find more information and the videos ​here.​​


  • February 8, 2021

    New Dietary Guidelines Address Infants, Support Healthy Dietary Patte​rns

    For the first time, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans include recommendations for children younger than 2 years and make it clear that a healthy diet for infants and toddlers is crucial in setting a healthy pathway for later diet. To view the AAP article, click here.


  • February 8, 2021

    ​Shared Decision-Making Worksheet for Families & Caregivers
    Family Voices has created a shared decis​ion-making worksheet based on the AAP interim guidance,​ Caring for Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic. This worksheet assists families in how to initiate conversations and strengthen the partnership and collaboration with their child’s care team. 

  • February 1, 2021

    Eatable Alphabet Grant Opportunity - for AAP Members

    ​​The AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight is pleased to announce that the Eatable Alphabet Grant Opportunity is now open! The Eatable Alphabet: Kitchen Activity Cards for Kids was created in partnership with ChopChop Family, with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Institute is offering a competitive application process to award Eatable Alphabet dissemination grants specifically to AAP Members!  Please see attached RFA for more information and the applicatio​n link. The call for applications closes on Monday, February 8, 2021. If you have any questions, please contact Mala Thapar at mthapar@aap.org. ​

  • January 20, 2021

    PEHSU Grand Rounds Webinar

    Health professionals are invited to the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units (PEHSU) National Webinar Series. The series provides an in-depth and interactive platform for learning and discussion about current and emerging topics in reproductive and pediatric environmental health presented by subject matter experts from within the PEHSU network. These events are free of charge and continuing education (CE) credit is available, including CME and CNE. The next webinar, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): What Clinicians Need to Know, will discuss current and relevant information on the health effects of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The presentation will provide an overview of PFAS, describing their basic structure and chemical properties. It will also review the presence and persistence of PFAS both in the environment and in the human body, routes of exposure, and current risk reduction strategies.  

    January 27, 2021  1:00 PM ET

    Click here to register​


  • January 5, 2021

    Pediatrics On Call Podcast: Research Roundup with Drs. Lewis First and Alex Kemper

    In this episode, Lewis First, MD, MS, FAAP, editor-in-chief of Pediatrics, is back for another edition of “First Up." This time, he brings special guest, Alex Kemper, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP, deputy editor of Pediatrics, for a look at the “Best of 2020."  Hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also talk to Jenny Radesky, MD, FAAP, about what “screen time" means during a pandemic. Go to www.aap.org/podcast.​​​


  • January 5, 2021

    AAP Disaster Management ECHO
    The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is launching a Disaster Management Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program. The AAP Disaster Management ECHO will serve as a forum for pediatric primary providers, hospitalists, and public health/Emergency Medical Services personnel to increase participant knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy around disaster management strategies to aid children and families and to foster system level connectedness and improvements. 

    This ECHO program will meet twice per month starting in February 2021 and each session will last 1-hour. 
    To register for the Disaster Management ECHO, please click here. 

    More information about Project ECHO may be found at www.aap.org/projectecho. 


  • December 17, 2020

    New HRSA Challenge to Address Declining Vaccination Coverage and Well-Child Visits

    The Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) launched the Promoting Pediatric Primary Prevention (P4) Challenge competition yesterday to respond to declining rates of childhood vaccination coverage and well-child visits due to COVID-19. CDC data show that these declines might leave young children and communities vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. 


    The P4 Challenge will award $1 million in prizes for innovative approaches to increase access to and utilization of well-child visits and/or immunizations services within primary care settings. Partnerships with state and local organizations are encouraged, and submissions must include a primary care provider who delivers health services to children.

    MCHB expects to select up to 50 Phase 1 winners and up to 20 Phase 2 winners. Submissions will open on January 19th, 2021 and will close on March 15th, 2021. Visit their website for more information and to sign up for updates.​

  • December 17, 2020

    Winners Announced in 2 MCHB Grand Challenges 

    This week, HRSA announced the final winners of two of the four MCHB Grand Challenges, the suite of four prize competitions to develop innovative, technology-based solutions to improve the health of mothers and children across the U.S.

    The winner of the Care Coordination for Children with Special Health Care Needs Challenge is Caremap, developed by Boston Children's Hospital, National Family Voices and Duke Health. Caremap is a software solution that helps families of children with special health care needs coordinate the care their children receive from a variety of health professionals.

    The winner of the Addressing Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnant Women and New Moms Challenge is the Mobile-Accessible Plan of Safe Care (mPOSC) app, developed by Benten Technologies in collaboration with ChristianaCare and Delaware Division of Family Services. mPOSC is a mobile app with an integrated web-based system designed to keep families engaged in the collaborative care model.​

    For more information on accessing the Grand Challenges innovations, please email MCHBGrandChallenges@hrsa.gov​

  • December 17, 2020

    AMCHP​​ #ScreenToInterveneForAYAs blog​- ​"Take Care of Yourself First. Always"
    The latest post on the #ScreenToInterveneForAYAs blog is up on the AMCHP website. This particular blog post emphasizes the importance of self-care in working with adolescent and youth health programs, particularly in the context of a pandemic. Tina Palmer, State Adolescent Health Coordinator for the state of Iowa, shares what 2020 looked like for her along with her strategies for self-care.​ Please take a moment to read and feel inspired to prioritize your own self care today and throughout 2021.​

  • December 15, 2020

    Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) Program Call for Proposals is open! 

    ​The CATCH program is a national initiative of the AAP that supports pediatricians to collaborate within their communities to plan and/or implement projects that advance the health of all children. The CATCH Call for Proposals is open through January 27, 2021 at 3pm CT. Pediatricians and residents with innovative ideas to plan or implement initiatives that address critical child health issues in their local communities may apply for $10,000 and $2,000, respectively. This cycle there is targeted funding opportunities for rural health initiatives. The re​sident Call for Proposals guidelines include targeted funding opportunities for oral health, community pediatrics, environmental health, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, emergency medicine, and mental health initiatives. Questions? Reach out to CATCH staff at catch@aap.org. To learn more about CATCH visit aap.org/CATCH. ​​


  • December 14, 2020

    Bright Futures Presents: Resources, Strategies, and Experiences to Advance NPMs 11 & 12
    The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) hosted a webinar that featured key resources, strategies, and real-world experiences to assist state Title V MCH program's efforts to advance National Performance Measures 11 (Medical Home) and 12 (Transition). Presenters included representatives from the Bright Futures National Center, state Title V MCH programs, Got Transition, and the National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Med​ical Home.

    To view the webinar and other materials, click here​.

  • December 14, 2020

    Technical Assistance Available from the AAP Distant Care Project

    As part of the “Supporting Providers and Families to Access Telehealth and Distant Care Services for Pediatric Care" project, the AAP is offering free technical assistance to pediatric health professionals on the following topics:

    • Implementation of telehealth and distant care services in pediatric practice
    • Implementation of telehealth and teleconsultation for behavioral/mental health services
    • Use of telehealth to support adolescent health promotion
    • Use of telehealth for children and youth with special health care needs, including those with autism spectrum disorder, other developmental disabilities, and medical complexities
    • Use of telehealth in pediatric practices serving rural and underserved communities

    Technical assistance services can include connection to tools and resources and subject matter experts. Email distantcare@aap.org for technical assistance requests. Please note, the AAP does not endorse or support the use of any specific telehealth technology and does not provide technical assistance on the use of any one specific telehealth technology.​

  • December 14, 2020

    Upcoming AAP Town Hall:  COVID-19 Vaccine Q&A

    The AAP has launched a bi-weekly series of virtual town halls linking members with leading experts to discuss emerging issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last town hall (December 3) included highly informative presentations from Dr Amanda Cohn and Dr James Campbell about COVID-19 vaccine. This town hall generated a large number of questions, some which have been addressed in this frequently asked questions document here.  The upcoming session will continue this conversation and focus on answering more questions. Join to connect with peers and experts to ask questions and gain knowledge to better prepare for the dissemination of COVID-19 vaccine.

    Thursday, December 17  at 7 pm CT​
    Register here. Previous Town Halls are available for viewing here​. ​  

 BRIGHT FUTURES/AAP PERIODICITY SCHEDULE (UPDATED MARCH 2021)
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Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care in Practice​

 About Bright Futures Video

 CORE PRACTICE TOOLS
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Access Core Tools for Each Well-Child Visit

  • Previsit Questionnaires
  • Visit Documentation Forms
  • Parent/Patient Education Handouts
Learn More

 TXT4BABY


 

 Screening Time Online Course


 Subscribe to Bright Futures

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