Social Pediatrics and Child Health examines how social, environmental and community determinants shape child wellbeing, and how clinicians can respond with practical, system-level solutions. This session is designed for paediatricians, community health practitioners, school nurses, social workers and public-health policymakers aiming to close the gap between clinic care and the broader social realities affecting children. Presentations will synthesize evidence on poverty, housing instability, food insecurity, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and environmental exposures, translating that evidence into routine screening, triage and referral workflows suitable for busy practices. Emphasis will be on pragmatic screening tools that take minutes to complete, cross-sector referral pathways that connect families to housing, nutrition and legal aid, and clinic-embedded care navigators that reduce missed follow-up. Speakers will present real-world case studies from community health hubs and school-based programmes that improved immunisation coverage, reduced emergency visits and increased early intervention uptake.

A major theme is the operationalization of social determinants into everyday paediatric practice. Attendees will learn how to implement brief validated questionnaires, automate referral triggers within electronic health records and partner with local NGOs for warm-hand off services. The session covers billing and documentation strategies so that social care activities are sustainable, and discusses metrics to capture impact (e.g., reduction in missed appointments, linkage-to-service rates, improvements in growth parameters). Policy panels will highlight opportunities for reorienting funding toward upstream prevention, and breakout workshops will focus on building community coalitions that amplify clinical work through schools, faith groups and local government.

Practical skill-building modules include trauma-informed approaches for primary care teams, culturally responsive communication techniques, and rapid-response protocols for family crises. Speakers of Social Pediatrics Conference will also address ethics and confidentiality—how to balance mandatory reporting obligations with building trust—and provide templates for consent and safe data-sharing with community partners. The session will provide downloadable toolkits: one-page screening flowsheets, sample referral letters, community resource registries and scripts for sensitive conversations about housing or abuse.