Firearm-related fatalities are the third leading cause of death among children in the U.S., taking about 1,300 young lives annually. Several thousand children are injured by firearms yearly, and as many as 4 percent of children have witnessed a shooting in the past year causing immeasurable psychological trauma. But what can we, as pediatricians, do […]
When I was 8 or 9 years old, I watched my younger sister, not yet 4 years old, jump off the diving board wearing her “bubble” (an inflated football shaped flotation device belted around her waist). The bubble floated to the surface; she did not. My young self swam to help her, and we both […]
More immunization education sessions are being scheduled by imams for Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at Minnesota mosques in April and May. These immunization education sessions are part of the “Faith and Medicine” project which pairs a physician or resident with the imam at a mosque. The format of each session includes introductory comments from the imam, […]
By Vijay Chawla, MD, FAAP; and Sylvia Sekhon, MD, FAAP The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) identified that children of Somali descent who were 24 months of age had an MMR vaccination rate of nearly half that of their non-Somali peers: 46 percent compared to the rate among non-Somali children, which was 88 percent. During […]
MNAAP is seeking more pediatricians and residents interested in answering Somali parent questions about immunizations during mosque visits taking place December through February. These sessions are usually 60-90 minutes and will have a Somali interpreter at the session. We are working with 20 imams and mosques to provide this education for parents and interested elders. […]
