587 - Strengthening pediatric global health fellowship programs: rationale and process towards accreditation

Poster Number: 587
Publication Number: 587.117

Andrew P. Steenhoff, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Melissa Bauserman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Michelle Eckerle, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States; Jeff Robison, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States; Maneesh Batra, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seatt;e, WA, United States; Alexandra M. Vinograd, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Teri L. Turner, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United States; Paul M. Darden, Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, AR, United States; Heather Crouse, Baylor College of Medicine / Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, United States

Background: Pediatric global health (GH) training at the fellowship level is becoming increasingly common. Nearly half of US pediatric fellowships offer GH experiences, and dedicated GH fellowship training programs have emerged. However, there are currently no uniform standards with respect to content, structure, and goals for GH fellowships.

Objective: Our goal was to create a path towards accreditation of pediatric GH fellowships through the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) which addresses the unique needs of GH as a specialty, encourages standardization of established programs, fosters a nurturing environment permitting growth of new programs, and allows for innovation.

Design/Methods: We convened a multi-disciplinary group of 19 pediatric GH educators from 16 US institutions in October 2019. The educators were self-identified from a landscape survey or through personal invitation of known GH fellowship leaders or programs. This GH educator group represented programs of varying sizes and resources, and a mix of both stand-alone and subspecialty-combined GH fellowships. Between 2019 and 2021, this group developed and aligned on a mission and vision using a modified Delphi process with input from 12 committee members. Through an iterative process by consensus opinion and modeled after the documents maintained by the APA for accreditation of the Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship Program, we developed the processes for accreditation.

Results: We obtained 100% consensus on a mission statement after three rounds of comments, and consensus on a vision statement after four rounds of comments (Table). An accreditation process was outlined through the APA including specification of program requirements and recommended components. Other considerations were outlined to address specific accreditation challenges, especially the unique situation in GH training where fellowships can exist as stand-alone or subspecialty-combined programs.Conclusion(s): Processes are now in place to formally accredit pediatric GH fellowships through the APA. The accreditation process will serve as an opportunity for existing pediatric GH fellowships to assess the quality of their training and identify areas of improvement, and for new programs to use as a guide. We expect the APA accreditation guidelines to elevate the standards for GH fellowships, ensuring that graduates of these programs are equipped to improve the wellbeing of vulnerable children, irrespective of where they were born or live and to become future leaders in pediatric GH.
Table: Mission and Vision of Global Health Educators Group