In this Complex Care Journal Club podcast episode, Ms. Emily Johnson and Dr. Florence Gagné discuss a scoping review of interventions to assess social needs for children with medical complexity. They describe the different approaches to screening and intervention in the five included studies, implications for practice, and opportunities to engage social workers in research.
SPEAKERS
Emily Johnson, MSW, LICSW
Clinical Social Worker
Boston Children's Hospital
Florence Gagné, MD
Pediatrician
Montréal Children’s Hospital
HOST
Kristina Malik, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Medical Director
Pediatrician, Special Care Clinic
University of Colorado School of Medicine
KidStreet
Children’s Hospital Colorado
DATE
Initial publication date: August 11, 2026.
JOURNAL CLUB ARTICLE
Johnson ER, Hadge SM, Wachter SM, Gagné F. Interventions to assess social needs for children with medical complexity and their families: A scoping review. Patient Educ Couns. 2026;148:109555. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2026.109555.
OTHER ARTICLES REFERENCED
Ming DY, Jones KA, Sainz E, Tkach H, Stewart A, Cram A, Morreale MC, Dizon S, deJong NA. Feasibility of implementing systematic social needs assessment for children with medical complexity. Implement Sci Commun. 2021 Nov 21;2(1):130. doi: 10.1186/s43058-021-00237-3. PMID: 34802465; PMCID: PMC8606226.
TRANSCRIPT
https://cdn.bfldr.com/D6LGWP8S/as/3sgvpf2qjsvt9zqxvf37xspz/Gagne_and_Johnson_Final_Transcript_8-3-26
Clinicians across healthcare professions, advocates, researchers, and patients/families are all encouraged to engage and provide feedback! You can recommend an article for discussion using this form: https://forms.gle/Bdxb86Sw5qq1uFhW6.
Please visit: http://www.openpediatrics.org OPENPediatrics™ is an interactive digital learning platform for healthcare clinicians sponsored by Boston Children’s Hospital and in collaboration with the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies. It is designed to promote the exchange of knowledge between healthcare providers around the world caring for critically ill children in all resource settings. The content includes internationally recognized experts teaching the full range of topics on the care of critically ill children. All content is peer-reviewed and open-access thus at no expense to the user. For further information on how to enroll, please email: openpediatrics@childrens.harvard.edu
CITATION
Johnson ER, Gagné F, Malik K. Screen and Intervene: Meeting Social Needs for Children with Medical Complexity. 08/2026. OPENPediatrics. Online Podcast. https://soundcloud.com/openpediatrics/screen-and-intervene-meeting-social-needs-for-children-with-medical-complexity.
