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Kids and Teens

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Approximately 1 in 365 Black or African American babies is born with sickle cell disease, and about 1 in 13 is born with sickle cell trait, per CDC sickle cell surveillance data. Pediatric asthma hospitalization rates in Black children are roughly double the rate in white children. Mental health care for Black children and teens runs through a pipeline that is systematically under-resourced in the geographies where Black families concentrate.

This pillar gathers the guides that parents, caregivers, and adolescents themselves can use to navigate those systems. Each guide is written in plain English, cites primary sources inline, and ends with named resources or questions a caregiver can bring to a pediatric visit.

Conditions to know

  • Sickle Cell Disease: 1 in 365 Black American births inherit sickle cell disease
  • G6PD Deficiency: 12% Of Black American men carry G6PD deficiency
  • Atopic Dermatitis on Black Skin: 19.3% of Black children in the US have atopic dermatitis vs. 16.1% of white and 7.8% of Asian children (NHANES analyses, JACI 2021)
  • Asthma: 7.7x asthma death rate, Black vs. white children (CDC, 2021 NHIS)

Free tools

Guides in this topic

Sickle cell disease in Black children: what parents should know about newborn screening, pain crises, and the 2023 gene therapies.

Reviewed Apr 2026

Guides and explainers for this audience

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Child & Adolescent Therapy providers → Pediatric Dentistry providers → Pediatrics providers →