Research supports a clear case to expand upon pediatric education curricula addressing child poverty, including the effects on child health by the convergence of poverty and racism. The authors applied a logic model to outline the current status of poverty-related training and identify what is required to improve it and meaningful areas of evaluation for measuring the impact on stakeholders. Although certain poverty-related training is offered through professional groups and institutions on the continuing medical education (CME) level, they are unrepresented in reports on curricular content, teaching and outcomes. Didactic instruction was the most commonly cited teaching model in undergraduate medical education (UME), while social determinants of health (SDH)-focused curricula were cited by multiple specialties for graduate medical education (GME). The authors found content related to racism and its impact on health, SDH and poverty lacking, while both UME and GME indicated growing traction to close this gap. Their framework proposes a hierarchical progression of poverty training from knowledge to analysis, with step-by-step evaluation covering the medical education continuum. "The scope of training must be broadened to integrate SDH, structural racism, medical racism, bias, equity and disparities," the authors write. New curricular content must also follow best-practice curriculum development guidance. Diverse learning strategies (didactic/experiential approaches in clinical and community settings) and technologies (podcasts, gamification, augmented/virtual reality) are advised as well. "We urge all pediatricians to participate in CME training on poverty, SDH, bias and racism as they are ubiquitous in our communities and medical institutions and impact the health of our patients, families and communities," the authors write.
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