Child Health in America ─ Making a Difference Through Advocacy

Who will speak for the children? is the question posed by Judith S. Palfrey, a pediatrician and child advocate who confronts unconscionable disparities in U.S. health care—a system that persistently fails sick and disabled children despite annual expenditures of $1.8 trillion.

In Child Health in America, Palfrey explores the meaning of advocacy to children's health and describes how health providers, community agencies, teachers, parents, and others can work together to bring about needed change. Palfrey presents a conceptual framework for child health advocacy consisting of four interconnected components: clinical, group, professional, and legislative. Describing each of these concepts in useful and compelling detail, she is also careful to provide examples of best practices.

This original and progressive work affirms the urgent need for child advocacy and provides valuable guidance to those seeking to participate in efforts to help all children live healthier, happier lives.

Judith S. Palfrey, M.D., the T. Berry Brazelton Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, is chief of the Division of General Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Boston. She is the author of Community Child Health: An Action Plan for Today and the coauthor of The Disney Encyclopedia of Baby and Childcare.