Funded Projects

Problem:

Family and community dynamics and social determinants (FCDSD) - such as poverty, parental depression, safety issues, and lack of access to necessities - have a significant impact on the health and well-being of children and may result in poor health outcomes.

Goals and Objectives:

This five-year project will facilitate measurable improvements in health literacy, practice, service delivery, program development, and policymaking in the Washington, DC region to address FCDSD contributing to poor health outcomes among children in underserved communities. By May 31 each year, Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) and the Advisory Board will establish an Annual Community Health Education Plan. From June through May each year, NHS will implement the plan, reaching a minimum of 300 key stakeholders. In Year 2, NHS will undertake a readiness study with a minimum of 15 key stakeholder groups to determine how these organizations could assess FCDSD affecting children in the families they serve. In Years 3 through 5, NHS will train a minimum of 20 children's service providers on how to use the Survey of Well-Being of Young Children (SWYC) and 20 human service providers on how to use the Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients' Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) to identify children at risk. From May through June of Years 3 through 5, project partners will use data collected with SWYC and PRAPARE to provide referrals for children and to provide NHS with data to analyze FCDSD in the region. At the end of each year, NHS will convene at least 15 key stakeholders to share the data analyses and develop community responses.

Methodology:

This project will improve the health status of children in the region by: a) providing education to providers, families, and community organizations on factors affecting child well-being and ways to promote well-being, b) advocating for a medical home and pediatric comprehensive child assessments including FCDSD, c) educating families and providers about community resources, and d) increasing children's access to health services.

Coordination:

The project will be undertaken in collaboration with Mary's Center, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, and Georgetown University Medical Center. The Advisory Board will include pediatricians, pediatric and family nurse practitioners, family medicine providers, child and community researchers, nurses, and a medical-legal partnership lawyer from such institutions as the Human Diagnosis Project, the National Association of School Nurses, Children's National Health System, the Hospital for Sick Children, and Georgetown University Law Center.

Evaluation:

The process/outcome evaluation is expected to show: a) improvements in community knowledge about the impact of FCDSD on children's development and b) increases in community health responses and collaborative efforts to address community conditions that affect the health and well-being of children.