Top 10 Articles in Pediatric Behavioral Health

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

8-2026

Abstract

To provide optimal care during the ongoing pediatric behavioral health crisis, hospitalists need up-to-date knowledge of the rapidly growing behavioral health literature. In the style of PHM’s annual Top 10 Articles, the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Hospital Medicine Behavioral Health Subcommittee will address this gap by presenting the top 10 behavioral health articles affecting pediatric hospitalist practice from the past year (July 2025–June 2026). Subcommittee members will present each article with an emphasis on its application to clinical practice.

To select our top 10 articles, we will use systematic review software and a structured scoring system to review up to 30 journals for the top article in each of 10 pre-selected categories relevant to PHM practice. These categories include agitation, Autism Spectrum Disorder, boarding, catatonia, healthcare equity and disparities in care, healthcare utilization, healthcare worker experience, trends in behavioral health hospitalizations, psychopharmacology, and workplace violence.

To begin the session, we will introduce our speakers and assess the audience’s most significant challenges in behavioral health management through an electronic poll. We will then review our article selection process before presenting the top 10 articles by category. We will review each article’s methodology, findings, and clinical applications with brief electronic poll questions distributed throughout the presentation. For example, before presenting the top article on Psychopharmacology, the presenter may ask, “What medications do you use for initial pharmacologic management of severe agitation?”

At the conclusion of our presentation, we will host a question-and-answer session with the presenters, who will all be members of the Behavioral Health Subcommittee. Each attendee will leave the mini-plenary session with an electronic document summarizing the top 10 pediatric behavioral health articles.

Learning Objectives: Summarize key findings from recent pediatric behavioral health articles that are clinically impactful for pediatric hospitalists Determine appropriate clinical applications of study findings based on analysis of studies' methodological strengths and weaknesses Analyze emerging evidence to generate ideas for future pediatric behavioral health research, quality improvement, and policy initiatives

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Pediatric Hospital Medicine Conference, August 6-9, 2026, Kansas City, MO

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