Center for Women’s and Children’s Research

Advancing research to improve the health of women, children and families across the region

The Center for Women’s and Children’s Research advances health services, health systems and implementation science to improve prevention and health outcomes for women, children and families across Geisinger patients, health plan members and surrounding communities. 

Our research helps identify risk factors for disease and adverse outcomes, co-design and evaluate interventions and develop strategies that strengthen maternal, child and family health. We partner with Geisinger clinicians, community organizations and patient collaborators. 

A commitment to health equity — particularly among lower-income and rural families — guides our research, education and outreach, with a strong emphasis on nutrition and food security. 

The center maintains the Child and Adolescent Trend (CAT) registry, built from the Geisinger Electronic Health Record. CAT includes data on more than 600,000 patients, capturing demographics, vitals, diagnoses, labs, social history, medications, referrals and center-specific measures like: 

• Birth weight
• CDC/WHO BMI percentiles
• BMIz and BMIz extended
• Family Nutrition and Physical Activity (FNPA)
• Early Healthy Lifestyles (EHL) assessments
• Food insecurity
• Pediatric blood pressure percentiles 

FNPA and EHL are collected annually to assess child behavior, parent practices and home environments associated with healthy, active living and obesity risk. Each patient has at least one BMI measure from a same-day height and weight recorded before age 21, dating back to 1996.