Primary Care Perspectives

Contraception counseling is an important part of comprehensive primary care for adolescents. The past decades have drastically changed the landscape of available contraception options. However, with so many options, contraception counseling can seem overwhelming. In this episode, Gladyne Confident, M.D., an attending in the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, addresses the basics of contraception counseling, how to approach misinformation about contraceptives, and more, using a nuanced and patient-centered approach. Special thanks to our guest host, Julia Pickel, MD, a pediatric resident at CHOP completing an Advanced Skills in Podcasting.

Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is common, but it is rare that a food allergy causes atopic dermatitis. In this episode, CHOP allergist Katie Kennedy, MD, explains that only about 25% of children with severe atopic dermatitis have flares driven by foods. She also discusses the pitfalls of allergy testing, approaches to identifying food triggers, and when to refer to an allergist.  Dr. Kennedy talks about beef tallow and eczema, but for more information view Pediatric Health Chat. CHOP also has a Clinical Pathway for the Evaluation/Treatment of Children with Suspected Atopic Dermatitis. For more information on CHOP's Allergy Program, visit: Allergy Program | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia   #foodallergies #eczema

There is a lot of information online about vaccines-- some good, some bad. This means that patients are coming to their primary care providers with more vaccine questions. In this episode, Lori Handy, MD, MSCE, and Charlotte Moser, MS, from the CHOP Vaccine Education Center discuss communication skills that clinicians can use in discussing vaccines with patients and families to provide clarity, build trust, and open dialogue.  Another resource with good information for patients and families on common vaccine myths is CHOP's Pediatric Health Chat.  #vaccines

In this episode, pediatric residents, Drs. Frances Avila-Soto and Michelle Rose, discuss the challenges immigrant families face while seeking healthcare. They also discuss how access to healthcare has been impacted by recent policy changes, what to do when ICE presents to a clinical space, and how pediatricians are uniquely equipped to advocate for immigrant patients. They hope that this episode leaves clinicians feeling more confident in caring for immigrant families and in their ability to continue advocating for their patients. For more information on the CHOP Pediatric Residency Program, visit: Pediatrics Residency Program | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Did you know that in the early 1900’s, a dentist figured out that people who had high levels of fluoride naturally occurring in their water supply had very low rates of tooth decay? This led to further research and ultimately community-wide fluoridation programs. Today, many places have fluoride in the water, toothpaste, and applied topically by the dentist or pediatrician. In this episode, we talk about topical fluoride dental varnish with Brian Jenssen, MD, MSHP, a CHOP researcher with Clinical Futures and the Possibilities Project, whose QI project on fluoride varnish was published in Pediatrics in October 2025. While fluoride continues to be a hot topic in the news, learn from Dr. Jenssen why we should embrace it in pediatric primary care. 

Many people do not know the difference between the terms deaf, Deaf, and Hard of Hearing, so in this episode we discuss the diverse landscape of hearing loss. Michael Hoffman, PhD and Matthew E. Fasano-McCarron, PsyD, discuss why some comorbidities may be more common in patients with hearing loss and some of the challenges in making diagnoses of comorbidities such as autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability. We also discuss the impact of language deprivation on the brain and how it impacts development, particularly psychosocial functioning. For more information on services for hearing loss and speech disorders offered at CHOP, visit the Center for Childhood Communication. 

Pediatric residents, Drs. Kelly McNult and Colleen Lynch, explain how they created an advocacy project related to bike helmets inspired by their personal experiences with patients and the loss of a colleague, Dr. Barbara Friedes. In this episode they not only explore how to execute an advocacy project as a resident but also teach us more about the effectiveness of bike helmets, how to ensure helmets fit, and other bike helmet anticipatory guidance. 

In the early 2000’s pediatricians recommended delaying the introduction of highly allergenic foods, like peanut, but we saw that the rates of peanut allergy continued to rise. However, the 2015 LEAP trial showed that early introduction was better. In fact, the LEAP trial found an 81% decrease in peanut allergies by age 5 in children who had an early introduction. In this episode, Stanislaw J. Gabryszewski, MD, PhD, discusses what we have learned in the decade since the LEAP trial and explains his recent study on how these guidelines have impacted the rates of peanut allergies in children. 

In this episode, Andrew Cohen, DMD, who is board certified in dental sleep medicine and a comprehensive restorative dentist, explains how anatomy, behavior, and overall health impacts sleep-related breathing. We discuss common issues like mouth-breathing, teeth grinding, thumb-sucking, and extended pacifier use and how these impact dental health and sleep. For more information, visit the CHOP Sleep Center.   Opinions expressed in this episode are those of Andrew Cohen, DMD, and not necessarily representative of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

We learned a lot about pediatric asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic, including how significant the impact of viruses is on causing asthma flares. In this episode, Shikha Saxena, MD, from our Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Pulmonary Asthma Program, and Pulmonology and Allergy Personalized Asthma (PAPA) Clinic, discusses ways to help keep asthma in good control through the viral season. We discuss when to use inhaled corticosteroids, school-based management approaches, and navigating insurance coverage challenges. Also, Dr. Saxena reinforces the importance of getting a flu shot!