A Health Equity–Driven Approach to Primary Care for the Child Born Premature

Every year, 1 in 10 children is born premature in the United States. Although survival rates for children born premature have improved, health and educational disparities remain persistent across their lifetime compared to full-term peers. Recent attention has been given to the promotion of health and development for children born premature through high-risk follow-up programs. However, there remains limited guidance in primary care and, in particular, guidance with an emphasis on health equity—an even more important focus given the often heightened medical and social needs of children born premature and their families. Grounded in recent best practice recommendations, we propose a health equity–driven framework of follow-up care for the child born premature that is strengthened by a whole child, whole family approach via primary care. We describe 5 health equity–based best practices: family partnership, care coordination, trauma-informed care, antiracism, and social justice. Supported by these best practices, we then describe 4 key topics in primary care health supervision for the child born premature: medical needs, development, social drivers of health, and family mental health.