Please read Dr. Jimenez’s article in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology titled, “Reach Out and Read Implementation: A Scoping Review.“
Eighty percent of third-graders who live in poverty do not read at grade level. Third-grade reading proficiency strongly predicts high school graduation, career readiness, and other markers of wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its far-reaching impacts on wellbeing, has intensified gaps in reading proficiency for children from low-income backgrounds and amplified the need for early childhood interventions that can help address these inequities. Given their near-universal and regular contact with young children, primary care professionals have a unique opportunity to encourage language-rich routines like shared reading during early childhood that can support optimal development and mitigate income-based gaps in school readiness and reading achievement. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics identifies literacy promotion as “an essential component of pediatric primary care” and recommends that pediatricians encourage parents to read aloud to children from birth. To read the full article.
Reach Out and Read Implementation: A Scoping Review. Uthirasamy N, Reddy M, Hemler JR, Devine KA, Cordoba D, Pai S, Ramachandran U, Mackie TI, Jimenez ME. Acad Pediatr. 2023 Apr;23(3):520-549. PMID: 36464156 PMCID: PMC10149560 DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.11.012