Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics
Center Highlights
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15th Annual Bioethics Conference
The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics hosted its 15th annual conference on July 19–20, 2019. Presentation videos are now available.
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Stephanie Kraft Seeks to Improve Informed Consent Process
She is studying how best to offer genomic sequencing to medically underserved primary care patients with a family history of breast or colon cancer.
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Dr. Kate Gentry Focuses on Communication Between Anesthesiologists and Parents
She is working to improve the informed consent process around anesthesia information, especially for families who do not speak English as a first language.
Key Partnerships
Partnerships are an essential part of the Treuman Katz Center’s mission. Our researchers collaborate with colleagues across the nation and around the world in pursuit of answers to complex bioethics questions.
Our partners include the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the Department of Bioethics and Humanities and the Institute of Translational Health Sciences at the University of Washington.
Bioethics Consultations
Our bioethicists provide practical guidance to families, providers, researchers and policymakers about patient care, public health and research issues. Our consultation service is available to colleagues throughout Seattle Children’s and the University of Washington, and we offer informal advice to people at outside institutions. Learn more about our services.
Publications
Bogetz JF. Apples and Potatoes. Journal of Palliative Medicine. 2019 Jun;22(6):730-73.
Kraft SA, Garrison NA, Wilfond BS. Understanding as an Ethical Aspiration in an Era of Digital Technology-Based Communication: An Analysis of Informed Consent Functions. The American Journal of Bioethics. 2019 May;19(5):34-36.
Eller NM, Henrikson NB, Opel DJ. Vaccine Information Sources and Parental Trust in Their Child's Health Care Provider. Health, Education & Behavior. 2019 Jun;46(3):445-453.
Cunningham RM, Kerr GB, Orobio J, Munoz FM, Correa A, Villafranco N, Monterrey AC, Opel DJ, Boom JA. Development of a Spanish version of the parent attitudes about childhood vaccines survey. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. 2019;15(5):1106-1110.
Moon M; COMMITTEE ON BIOETHICS (Opel DJ). Institutional Ethics Committees. Pediatrics. 2019 May;143(5). pii: e20190659.
Richardson LP, Zhou C, Gersh E, Spielvogle H, Taylor JA, McCarty CA. Effect of Electronic Screening With Personalized Feedback on Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors in a Primary Care Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2019 May 3;2(5):e193581.
Dobrozsi S, Trowbridge A, Mack JW, Rosenberg AR. Effective Communication for Newly Diagnosed Pediatric Patients With Cancer: Considerations for the Patients, Family Members, Providers, and Multidisciplinary Team. American Society Clinical Oncology Educational Book. 2019 Jan;39:573-581.
Wong CS, Kogon AJ, Warady BA, Furth SL, Lantos JD, Wilfond BS. Ethical and Policy Considerations for Genomic Testing in Pediatric Research: The Path Toward Disclosing Individual Research Results. American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2019 Jun;73(6):837-845.
Stay Informed
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Our Experts in the Media
- Hiking as a family benefits all ages – 9.24.19 – Charlotte Parent
The first step toward happy hiking with tots is making sure they’re safe and comfortable. “When planning a hike, a helpful general rule to remember is that a child can hike about as many miles as their age in years,” says avid hiker and wilderness educator Dr. Douglas Diekema, an emergency medicine physician at Seattle Children’s. Young children are more at risk for heat and cold injury than adults, so parents should bring an extra layer for children to wear and remember that babies and toddlers being carried stay cooler, even after you’re warmed up, he says. - Study helps parents build resilience to navigate child’s cancer – 9.18.19 – Medical Xpress
In a study published in JAMA Network Open, Seattle Children’s researchers found that one-on-one sessions teaching skills through a tool called Promoting Resilience in Stress Management for Parents (PRISM-P) improved resilience and benefit finding among parents of children with cancer. “This tells me we are doing what is perhaps most important for parents: helping them to know they can come back again tomorrow and that they can find some good in the bad. These two things will help both them and their families,” said Dr. Abby Rosenberg, a researcher at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and lead author of the study. -
Flu fact sheet for parents increases vaccination rate in children – 7.10.19 – EurekaAlert!
A pamphlet about the flu, handed to parents in their pediatrician's waiting room, can increase the number of children who get the flu vaccine, a new study from researchers at Columbia University has found. Additional authors of the study include Dr. Douglas Opel of Seattle Children’s and UW. -
Amid measles outbreak, New York closes religious exemption for vaccinations – but most states retain it – 6.28.19 – Pew Research Center
New York recently became the fifth state to enact a law requiring children in public school to be vaccinated unless they have a valid medical reason. Most states, however, allow children to be exempt from vaccinations due to religious concerns, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Some of these exemptions were added “at least in part owing to the lobbying efforts of the Christian Science Church,” according to an article in the Annual Review of Public Health by Dr. Douglas Diekema, a bioethicist at Seattle Children’s. -
We’re finally studying how to combat the anti-vax movement, but the methods may surprise you – 5.20.19 – Popular Science
Perhaps one of the most promising methods thus far might come as something of a surprise: approach the conversation with parents as if it’s assumed that they’re going to vaccinate their kids. “I was having these conversations with parents and I heard about their concerns, and I realized that there wasn’t much I had in my communication toolkit to be able to draw upon,” said Dr. Doug Opel, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Parents, he explains, are looking to their pediatricians for reassurance – so clinicians better know what to say and how to say it. Opel’s first step toward understanding the problem was simply to look at how pediatricians were already dealing with it. - Facing up to injustice in genome science – 4.18.19 – Nature
A growing number of researchers have made consultation and community involvement central to their work with Indigenous and other marginalized populations. Dr. Nanibaa’ Garrison, a geneticist and bioethicist at Seattle Children’s, interviewed Native American leaders, educators and community members about their concerns and suggestions on how to improve genetic research in tribal communities. “If tribes feel empowered to make decisions for themselves, rather than relying on other people, that may lead to greater engagement,” Garrison said. - Photo Gallery: UC's 'Research & Innovation Week' showcases extraordinary work – 4.11.19 – University of Cincinnati News
At UC's R&I Hutton Ethics Lecture, keynote speaker Dr. Benjamin Wilfond from Seattle Children's Research Institute asked, "Why does medical research and clinical work have to exist separate from one another?"
