Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) in the historical context of Community Pediatrics

As part of the evaluation of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Community Access to Child Health (CATCH), to 1) identify, retrospectively, the actual chronology of activities undertaken through CATCH, and 2) review its antecedents within the AAP, and its predecessor program-Healthy Children.

Key informant telephone interviews with 14 national leaders in CATCH were conducted. Relevant program and administrative files and other documents were reviewed. AAP staff assisted the authors in preparing a detailed chronology of Healthy Children and CATCH activities and events from spring 1988 through summer 1996.

A decade of change in the AAP, under the acronym CATCH began in the late 1980s. The formation of the AAP's Partnership for Children and the Access to Care for Children Initiative, combined with the decision by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to transfer the funding of Healthy Children to the AAP, underpinned the changes. The Foundation's decision provided the resources and stimulus for the expansion and increased recognition of Community Pediatrics at the national AAP office, culminating in the establishment of the Department of Community Pediatrics in mid-1994. A national program of pediatrician-led, community-based programs and supportive services was launched, other resources were attracted, and a philosophical shift in defining the role of the pediatrician was put forward. A responsibility toward all children within the community was included in the role of the pediatrician, as well as caring for the individual child within a community context.