REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CHILD AND ADOLESCENT HEALTH
CM-CAH Report 2-A-07
Subject: Policy Review
Presented by: Jason Terk, MD, FAAP, Chair
Referred to: Reference Committee on Public Health
House of Delegates policies in the association's Policy Compendium are reviewed periodically for relevance and appropriateness. The following policies were reviewed and recommendations are offered for possible retention and amendment.
55.025 Child and Health Safety . The Texas Medical Association supports educational efforts to increase knowledge about normal child development and age appropriate discipline, to be a part of educational curricula in middle school, high school, and during medical school training. Components of the initiative include (1) increasing parental knowledge about the emotional and developmental needs of children; (2) encouraging communication; (3) fostering healthy lifestyles by recommending regular medical checkups and one-on-one counseling; (4) teaching parents how to deal with stressors; and (5) providing community referrals (Council on Public Health, p 75, A-97).
260.046 Healthy Families Program . The Texas Medical Association supports increased state funding for the Healthy Families program (formerly called Healthy Start) (Committee on Child and Adolescent Health, p 107, A-97).
Recommendation 1: Retain.
260.050 Hepatitis B Vaccine. The Texas Medical Association supports (a) prenatal screening for Hepatitis B; (b) universal Hepatitis B vaccination of infants; and (c) all children receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine by age 14 (Committee on Child and Adolescent Health, p 84, I-97).
The committee reviewed this policy and recommends deleting (c) and changing (b) to read as follows:
260.050 Hepatitis B Vaccine . The Texas Medical Association supports (a) prenatal screening for Hepatitis B; and (b) universal Hepatitis B vaccination of children and infants according to Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) recommendations ; and (c) all children receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine by age 14 (Committee on Child and Adolescent Health, p 84, I-97).
Recommendation 2: Adopted as amended.
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007