Introduction: Addressing the millennial morbidity--the context of community pediatrics.

Pediatrics is a contextual specialty concerned about children, their families, and the communities in which they live. Historically, US pediatricians have demonstrated a deep appreciation of the relationship between community forces and child health outcomes. Abraham Jacobi, MD, and Job Lewis Smith, MD, the founders of American pediatrics, fought to ensure a clean water supply and decent housing for poor urban infants and children who were poor. They set the stage for pediatric activism in the community. In the decades since then, pediatricians have grappled to incorporate knowledge about the influences of the external environment into the practice of pediatrics.2 Although the morbidity and mortality of children have changed over the past 150 years, the need for engaging in the community with families and community-based partners has not. Rather, the salience of community pediatrics has risen as the effects of societal forces have intensified and knowledge of the bioenvironmental interface has become more sophisticated. This supplement is a collection of articles about training and practice in community pediatrics that offers specific examples of clinical practice and research aimed at fulfilling the promise that our profession has made to children in our society.