About

Katie Elizabeth McPeak, M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics (General Pediatrics) at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She serves as the Medical Director for Health Equity within the Primary Care Network at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is a Faculty Scholar at Policy Lab at CHOP. Dr. McPeak is a primary care pediatrician with over a decade of experience in quality improvement, system redesign, and primary care management, particularly in predominantly Medicaid-insured and underserved communities. She is a certified Spanish-speaking provider and focuses on reducing disparities in care for children, emphasizing family and patient-centered care redesign. Her research interests include health equity, reducing disparities in pediatric primary care, and testing innovative care delivery models for underserved populations.

Research topics

• Psychiatry
• Internal medicine
• Medical emergency
• Pathology
• Medicine
• Virology

Selected publications

• Barriers and facilitators to caregiver comfort with health‐related social needs data collection in the pediatric clinical setting

  Health Services Research · 2024-12-25 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: To identify barriers and facilitators to family-level comfort with health-related social needs (HRSN) data collection and documentation in the pediatric clinical setting. STUDY SETTING AND DESIGN: This qualitative study was nested within a pragmatic randomized controlled trial on social care integration in the pediatric clinical setting. We used a hybrid random-purposive strategy to sample 60 caregivers of pediatric patients ages 0-25 presenting at two primary care clinics and one emergency department affiliated with a large pediatric healthcare system between September 2022 and 2023. We developed an interview guide and codebook to explore caregiver experiences with and perceptions of HRSN data collection and documentation. DATA SOURCES AND ANALYTIC SAMPLE: We conducted semi-structured telephone interviews in English and Spanish with 60 caregivers. Interviews were conducted until thematic saturation was achieved and were transcribed verbatim. We used thematic analysis with constant comparison to code interviews and identify emerging themes. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our analysis yielded several barriers to caregiver comfort with HRSN data collection and documentation: (1) stigmatization by providers and medical staff and risk of child protective services involvement, (2) providers presuming connections between documented HRSN and medical complaints, (3) permanency of documented HRSN, (4) visibility of HRSN data by pediatric patients and caregiver proxies, and (5) fear that documented HRSN could negatively impact future insurance cost and coverage. We identified four facilitators to caregiver comfort: (1) clear communication regarding the purpose of HRSN data collection and use, (2) respect for caregiver autonomy, for example, by providing the option to decline participation, (3) training of data collection personnel to ensure privacy and compassionate care, and (4) consideration of timing within the medical visit, delaying assessment until medical concerns are addressed. CONCLUSIONS: Caregiver-identified barriers and facilitators should be considered in clinically based HRSN data collection efforts to ensure that these programs are equitable and family-centered.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Connecting Families to Benefit Programs Through a Standardized Nutrition Screener

  The Annals of Family Medicine · 2024-05-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  The federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are key sources of nutrition support for low-income families.1 WIC and SNAP participation have been associated with improved health outcomes and

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Trends and Persistent Disparities in Child Obesity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Childhood Obesity · 2023-05-24 · 8 citations

  article

  The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increases in pediatric obesity and widening pre-existing disparities. To better understand the pandemic's long-term impacts, we evaluated trends in obesity across different demographic groups during the pandemic through December 2022. Using a retrospective cohort design, we analyzed electronic health record data from a large pediatric primary care network. Logistic regression models fit using generalized estimating equations estimated odds ratios (ORs) for changes in the level and trajectory of obesity across 2-year month-matched periods: prepandemic (June 2017 to December 2019) and pandemic (June 2020 to December 2022). Among a cohort of 153,667 patients with visits in each period, there was a significant increase in the level of obesity at the pandemic onset [OR: 1.229, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.211-1.247] followed by a significant decrease in the trend for obesity (OR: 0.993, 95% CI: 0.992-0.993). By December 2022, obesity had returned to prepandemic levels. However, persistent sociodemographic disparities remain.

  PublisherDOI

• Measures of Neighborhood Opportunity and Adherence to Recommended Pediatric Primary Care

  JAMA Network Open · 2023-08-24 · 32 citations

  articleOpen access

  Importance: Neighborhood conditions are known to broadly impact child health. Research to date has not examined the association of the Childhood Opportunity Index (COI), a multidimensional indicator of neighborhood environment conditions, specifically with pediatric primary care outcomes. Objective: To determine the association of neighborhood opportunity measured by the COI with health metrics commonly captured clinically in pediatric primary care, reflecting both access to preventive care and child well-being. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional observational study used electronic health record data from a large pediatric primary care network in the northeastern US. Participants included patients aged 0 to 19 years who were active in the primary care network between November 2020 and November 2022. Data were analyzed in December 2022. Exposure: Census tract-level COI overall score (in quintiles). Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes included up-to-date preventive care and immunization status and presence of obesity, adolescent depression and suicidality, and maternal depression and suicidality. Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regressions estimated associations of these outcomes with COI quintiles, adjusted for age, sex, race and ethnicity, and insurance type. Results: Among 338 277 patients (mean [SD] age, 9.8 [5.9] years; 165 223 female [48.8%]; 158 054 [46.7%] non-Hispanic White, 209 482 [61.9%] commercially insured), 81 739 (24.2%) and 130 361 (38.5%) lived in neighborhoods of very low and very high COI, respectively. Living in very high COI neighborhoods (vs very low COI) was associated with higher odds of being up-to-date on preventive visits (odds ratio [OR], 1.40; 95% CI, 1.32-1.48) and immunizations (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.58-2.00), and with lower odds of obesity (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.52-0.58), adolescent depression (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.72-0.84) and suicidality (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.73-0.85), and maternal depression (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.72-0.86) and suicidality (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.61-0.83). Conclusions and Relevance: This cross-sectional study of electronic health record data found that neighborhood opportunity was associated with multiple pediatric primary care outcomes. Understanding these associations can help health systems identify neighborhoods that need additional support and advocate for and develop partnerships with community groups to promote child well-being. The findings underscore the importance of improving access to preventive care in low COI communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Neighborhood Greenspace and Changes in Pediatric Obesity During COVID-19

  American Journal of Preventive Medicine · 2022-08-29 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Resident Training Experiences Providing Spanish-Language Concordant Care: Implications for Growing Health Equity Efforts Within Graduate Medical Education

  Clinical Pediatrics · 2022-02-13 · 1 citations

  article

  Training experiences where residents provide Spanish-language concordant care (SLCC) have not been widely described despite their increasing need and prevalence in graduate medical education. In this qualitative study, we enrolled nonnative Spanish-speaking residents (n = 21) within SLCC training clinics from 3 geographically unique programs. Participants completed semistructured interviews focused on their overall SLCC training experience. Major themes identified included (1) high levels of satisfaction in their SLCC experience, (2) concern about ongoing language barriers, (3) demonstration of high levels of cultural humility in caring for patients with limited English proficiency, and (4) identification of several valuable programmatic and clinical resources. Based on these findings, we conclude that SLCC training experiences are of significant value to trainees in becoming pediatricians able to promote health equity. Themes identified could help inform how graduate medical education programs utilize SLCC to grow health-equity based efforts to deliver more effective and compassionate care to our linguistically diverse populations.

  PublisherDOI

• Characterization of Social Risk Factors Among Newborns Seen at an Urban Pediatric Primary Care Predictive of Appointment Nonattendance During the First 6 Months of Life

  Health Equity · 2022-01-20 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Purpose: Appointment attendance is critical in monitoring health and well-being of children. Low income Medicaid-insured families with newborns often experience social risks that may affect attendance. This project sought to characterize social risk factors present at first newborn visits predictive of future appointment nonattendance. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of minority and Medicaid-insured population at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children using a standardized social risk screener administered at first newborn visits as part of routine clinical care. In total, 720 survey responses between December 2016 and June 2017 were correlated with electronic health record-derived sociodemographic and appointment attendance data in the first 6 months of life. Nonattendance included missed and canceled appointments. Caregiver-reported social risk factors were included as covariates in linear regressions predicting proportion nonattendance outcomes. Results: Newborn caregivers identified many social risk factors including mental health diagnoses (14%), lack of child care support (45%), and food insecurity (9%). Approximately 74% had nonattendance with 41% missing or canceling a quarter or more appointments. Number of siblings (p<0.01) and maternal age (p<0.01) were most predictive for nonattendance, respectively. Other social risks were not significant except for maternal mental health (p=0.01) among those identifying number of risk factors above cohort average (16%). Conclusion: Screening of newborns at first medical visits can be used to characterize social risks. Most social risk factors at first visits were not strongly predictive of nonattendance, although our results suggested associations between non-attendance and maternal demographics, mental health and household makeup.

  PublisherDOI

• Trends in Positive Depression and Suicide Risk Screens in Pediatric Primary Care During COVID-19

  Academic Pediatrics · 2022-12-27 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Implementing team-based newborn well care: Perspectives of nurses and physicians

  Journal of Pediatric Nursing · 2022-04-07 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Pediatric Social Risk Screening: Leveraging Research to Ensure Equity

  Academic Pediatrics · 2021-09-24 · 26 citations

  reviewOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Nicola Brodie

  George Washington University

  36 shared

• George Dalembert

  University of Pennsylvania

  22 shared

• Alexander G. Fiks

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  22 shared

• Brian P. Jenssen

  University of Pennsylvania

  17 shared

• Stephanie L. Mayne

  University of Pennsylvania

  17 shared

• Maura Powell

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  11 shared

• Mary Kate Kelly

  9 shared

• Joel A. Fein

  University of Pennsylvania

  8 shared

Labs

• McPeak LabPI

Awards & honors

• Faculty Scholar, Policy Lab, Children's Hospital of Philadel…