Reducing the Use of Emergency Medical Resources Among Head Start Families: A Pilot Study

Herman, Ariella; Mayer, Gloria Gilbert

doi:10.1023/b:johe.0000022026.20770.f4

Cited by 31 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Recently, a study of parents reported a 48% reduction in emergency department visits and a 37.5% reduction in clinic visits after 6 months of health training sessions and written materials in Head Start. 23 If interventions through child care can decrease emergency department visits and office visits, then they may prove to be cost-effective from a societal perspective.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities for Health Promotion Education in Child Care

et al. 2005

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ABSTRACT. Objectives. Comprehensive health promotion education is not feasible through pediatric office visits alone. Opportunities may exist for enhanced health promotion in child care settings. The objectives of this study were to understand the attitudes toward, barriers to, and strategies for incorporating health promotion activities in child care settings as well as topics that are deemed most useful from the perspectives of parents, child care directors, and health consultants. We also sought to understand the health consultants' (health professionals serving as consultants to child care centers) current and desired roles in leading health promotion activities in child care settings.Methods. We conducted simultaneous surveys of all licensed child care center directors and their health consultants in Boston. A total of 240 parents in 16 randomly selected centers were also surveyed.Results. A total of 97 (65%) directors in the 150 child care centers identified responded. A total of 71% (56 of 79) of consultants and 58% (138 of 240) of parents responded. Parents (89%), child care directors (88%), and health consultants (80%) believe that health promotion activities through child care centers would improve the health knowledge and behaviors of preschool children. A total of 45% of parents reported already receiving useful health information from child care staff and materials distributed in child care. Most topic areas that were suggested to parents were considered useful, with the greatest utility in the areas of behavior/discipline, child development, and emergency management. No significant barriers were identified by health professionals. Lack of funds (63%) and lack of someone to provide information (59%) were the top barriers identified by directors. An educational session on health topics by health care professionals was believed to be the best strategy to improve health promotion education for families. Among the health consultants, 83% of nurses or nurse practitioners said that they would be able to provide health education in child care compared with 53% of physicians. Conclusion

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities for Health Promotion Education in Child Care

et al. 2005

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“…Thus, EHS may be a potentially effective venue for URI educational interventions. [31][32][33] We conducted a randomized study of an educational intervention to increase health literacy regarding URI, with the goals of decreased PED visits and improved care practices among EHS families in a predominately Latino community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of a URI-Related Educational Intervention in Early Head Start on ED Visits

2014

PEDIATRICS

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WHAT'S KNOWN ON THIS SUBJECT: Young children have multiple upper respiratory infections (URI) annually. Limited health literacy regarding URI can place families at risk for emergency department (ED) visits, inappropriate use of over-the-counter medications, and medication measurement errors.WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Few educational interventions for URI have targeted groups with limited health literacy. Integrating an educational intervention into Early Head Start is a novel approach to increasing parental health literacy regarding URI and decreasing ED visits, with potential for wide dissemination. abstract OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention to decrease pediatric emergency department (PED) visits and adverse care practices for upper respiratory infections (URI) among predominantly Latino Early Head Start (EHS) families.METHODS: Four EHS sites in New York City were randomized. Families at intervention sites received 3 1.5-hour education modules in their EHS parent-child group focusing on URIs, over-the-counter medications, and medication management. Standard curriculum families received the standard EHS curriculum, which did not include URI education. During weekly telephone calls for 5 months, families reported URI in family members, care sought, and medications given. Pre-and post-intervention knowledge-attitude surveys were also conducted. Outcomes were compared between groups.RESULTS: There were 154 families who participated (76 intervention, 78 standard curriculum) including 197 children ,4 years old. Families were primarily Latino and Spanish-speaking. Intervention families were significantly less likely to visit the PED when their young child (age 6 to ,48 months) was ill (8.2% vs 15.7%; P = .025). The difference remained significant on the family level (P = .03). These families were also less likely to use an inappropriate over-the-counter medication for their ,2-year-old child (odds ratio, 0.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.09-0.95; 12.2% vs 32.4%, P = .034) and/or incorrect dosing tool for their ,4-yearold child (odds ratio, 0.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.08-0.74; 9.8% vs 31.1%; P , .01). The mean difference in Knowledge-Attitude scores for intervention families was higher. CONCLUSIONS:A URI health literacy-related educational intervention embedded into EHS decreased PED visits and adverse care practices. Pediatrics 2014;133:e1233-e1240 AUTHORS:

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“…In most instances, materials more appropriately matched with the reading skills of the intended audience have been associated with healthful outcomes, such as decreased emergency department visits (Herman & Mayer, 2004) and decreased anxiety (Coyne et al, 2003).…”

Section: Efficacious and Innovative Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%