Research

Understanding and demonstrating our impact
Evaluating — and strengthening — our role in pediatric care

Reach Out and Read conducts research that shines a light on the positive outcomes of delivery of our model and reveals new areas where we can benefit young children, their families, and our network. We continue to strengthen and expand our evidence base to ensure that our model remains relevant, is based in the latest scientific understanding of child development, and delivers maximum impact for the millions we serve.

Our Research Approach

We combine the benefits of academic research with less traditional methodology to evaluate real-world implementation, working with and learning from the communities, clinicians, and parents and caregivers we serve. We are especially focused on the opportunity for grassroots transformation of pediatric care through quality improvement projects conducted within our network.

Our research explores the outcomes of delivery of our model that affect the health and well-being of the children and families we serve, including early childhood development in cognitive, social emotional, and relational domains; family stress and depression; and compliance with, and experience of, pediatric health care. We are also interested in how delivery of our model impacts clinician well-being.

LitNet: the Reach Out and Read research network

We conduct research through a collaborative network called LitNet, which includes Reach Out and Read clinicians and researchers. Our widescale national network of clinics — that deliver our model in the full range of clinics that make up the US health care system, including pediatric and family medicine; community, private, and academic in rural, suburban and urban communities — allows us to learn about factors that affect the delivery of our model in different contexts.

There are many ways for clinicians to engage in our research! For more information, sign up here for the Reach Out and Read research newsletter, launching in September 2024.

Current Research
Reach Out and Read is embarking on a long-term research project in partnership with the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University and the Institute for Child Success.
Sponsored Research Awards
Reach Out and Read sponsors research awards administered through the Academic Pediatric Association.
Reach Out and Read Podcast
Among all the great podcast episodes, you’ll find bimonthly Science Sessions that highlight additional research.