Residency exposures and anticipated future involvement in community settings.

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Community Health
• Medical Education

Background:

• Pediatric residents' future involvement in community child health settings is crucial for addressing public health needs.
• Understanding factors influencing this engagement during residency is essential for program development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of residency exposures to community activities on pediatric residents' anticipated future involvement in community child health settings.

Main Methods:

• Prospective cohort study of 683 pediatric residents from 10 programs (12 sites) training between 2003-2009.
• Residents reported annual participation in community activities and anticipated future involvement in community settings.
• Logistic regression analyzed the association between residency exposures and anticipated future involvement.

Main Results:

• Over half of residents participated in community settings (65.6%) or child health advocacy (53.6%) for ≥ 8 days annually.
• Anticipated high involvement in community settings decreased from the start (85.6%) to the end of residency (65.5%).
• Exposure to community settings during residency was significantly associated with anticipated future involvement (aOR 1.5; 95% CI 1.2, 2.0).

Conclusions:

• Pediatric residents with high anticipated involvement in community pediatrics engage in related training opportunities.
• Exposure to community settings during residency may positively influence long-term community involvement after training.