Scaling and Sustaining Effective Early Childhood Programs Through School-Family-University Collaboration.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Reynolds AJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5599124 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Scaling and Sustaining Effective Early Childhood Programs Through School-Family-University Collaboration.
Reynolds Arthur J AJ Hayakawa Momoko M Ou Suh-Ruu SR Mondi Christina F CF Englund Michelle M MM Candee Allyson J AJ Smerillo Nicole E NE
Child development 20170802 5
We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive preschool to third grade prevention program for the goals of sustaining services at a large scale. The Midwest Child-Parent Center (CPC) Expansion is a multilevel collaborative school reform model designed to improve school achievement and parental involvement from ages 3 to 9. By increasing the dosage, coordination, and comprehensiveness of services, the program is expected to enhance the transition to school and pro ...[more]
Similar Datasets
Project description:Early intervention (EI) researchers (i.e., those focused on children birth to age 3 and their families who experience early vulnerabilities) often engage in translational research and implementation science at the intersection of public health, pediatrics, and EI. There is currently a significant research-to-practice gap in EI despite ongoing efforts to close it. Translational research and implementation science are promising approaches to promote transdisciplinary collaborations among researchers and to move EI research into practice, thus supporting positive outcomes for young children and families. This commentary proposes a contemporary alignment of translational research phases for EI. Two literature reviews served to inform development of this alignment: (1) a narrative literature review identified existing applications of translational phases to EI; and (2) a rapid review identified examples of existing behavior-focused translational models across disciplines. Several case examples of current translational research being conducted in EI are discussed and classified according to their respective translational phase. The proposed alignment and case examples provide a basis for transdisciplinary conversations among those working across the various fields and disciplines relevant to EI research. A shift in EI research to reflect a translational and implementation focus will help bridge the research-to-practice gap and, most importantly, speed the movement of scientific evidence into real-world contexts to positively impact young children and families.
| S-EPMC10361727 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background:New education programs are developing to improve global health awareness. Dental students have demonstrated interest in international settings but are largely unaware of global health topics. The Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health of the University of Washington (UW) and Harvard School of Dental Medicine expanded a competency-based global health curriculum (Global Health Starter Kit) by integrating it within the UW School of Dentistry (UW SOD) existing elective course "Global Oral Health" to undergraduates, pre-, and doctorate students from the UW SOD and Public Health. The study objective was to evaluate the curriculum effectiveness by assessing 1) Knowledge and Attitudes (survey), and 2) Didactic coursework (global trends, global goals, primary care, social determinants and risks, and ethics and sustainability). Methods:Eligibility included enrolled students with both pre- and post-assessments. Descriptive statistics were conducted to present demographic data. Significant changes on survey and didactic evaluations were analyzed with paired t-tests (p < 0.05). Findings:The population (N = 15) represented 88% of the class. All Knowledge categories had a significant increase (p < 0.05), except in the topic of tropical diseases. At baseline, Attitudes categories had high scores and did not significantly increase by the end of the course. Even though all Didactic categories improved, only Social Determinants and Risks showed a significant increase (p < 0.01). Conclusion:Competency-based global health learning can be implemented in the dental curriculum. While the study shows promising results, efforts to identify areas for improvement as well as considerations of the institution's culture need to be assessed and addressed for each teaching cycle.
| S-EPMC7473179 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Multidisciplinary teams of school- and community-employed mental health, health, and educational staff work together in schools to offer a full continuum of mental health promotion, prevention, early intervention, and treatment services and supports. Intentional teaming structures and practices are essential to ensure teams deliver effective, coordinated services and supports. The current study investigated the extent to which continuous quality improvement strategies improved school mental health team performance during a 15-month national learning collaborative for 24 school district teams. All teams significantly improved their average teaming performance from baseline to the end of the collaborative (t(20) = -5.20, p < .001). Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles allowed teams to rapidly evaluate specific quality improvement changes to improve their performance. Teams with the most improvement focused on increasing multidisciplinary team membership, avoiding duplication and promoting efficiency, and connecting to community mental health providers/resources.
| S-EPMC10195065 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Untreated cavities can have far-reaching negative consequences for people's ability to eat, speak, and learn. By adolescence, 27 percent of low-income children in the United States will have untreated cavities. School-based sealant programs typically provide dental sealants (a protective coating that adheres to the surface of molars) at little or no cost to students attending schools in areas with low socioeconomic status. These programs have been shown to increase the number of students receiving sealants and to prevent cavities. We analyzed the cost-effectiveness of school sealant programs using data (from school programs in fourteen states between 2013 and 2014) on children's cavity risk, including the effects of untreated cavities on a child's quality of life. We found that providing sealants in school programs to 1,000 children would prevent 485 fillings and 1.59 disability-adjusted life-years. School-based sealant programs saved society money and remained cost-effective across a wide range of reasonable values.
| S-EPMC5870880 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAlthough there are many interventions targeting childhood obesity prevention, only few have demonstrated positive results. The current review aimed to gather and evaluate available school-based intervention studies with family involvement targeting dietary, physical activity and sedentary behaviors among primary schoolchildren and their families, in order to identify the most effective strategies.MethodsStudies published between 2000 and January 2015 were retrieved from scientific electronic databases and grey literature. The databases used included MEDLINE/PubMed, Web-of-Science, CINAHL and Scopus. Included studies had to be experimental controlled studies and had duration over 1 school year, had family involvement, combined PA and dietary behaviors and were implemented in school setting. A complementary search was executed to update the review to cover the period from February 2015 to January 2019.ResultsFrom the studies examined (n = 425), 27 intervention programs (33 publications) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Among these, 15 presented significant effect on weight status and/ or overweight/ obesity or clinical indices, 3 presented significant effect on most energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) while 9 presented significant effect on some/few EBRBs or determinants. Strategies implemented in effective interventions were: teachers acting as role-models and being actively involved in the delivery of the intervention, school policies supporting the availability of healthy food and beverage choices and limiting unhealthy snacks, changes in the schoolyard, in the recess rules and in the physical education classes to increase physical activity, and involving parents in the intervention via assignments, meetings, informative material and encouraging them to improve the home environment. Use of incentives for children, social marketing techniques, collaboration with local stakeholders were found to increase effectiveness. Programs that focused only on educational sessions and material for parents, without promoting relevant environmental and policy changes, were found to be less effective. Cultural adaptations have been suggested to increase the intervention's acceptance in specific or vulnerable population groups.ConclusionsSeveral effective strategies were identified in the reviewed programs. Outcomes of the current review were taken into account in developing the Feel4Diabetes-intervention and summed up as recommendations in the current work in order to facilitate other researchers designing similar childhood obesity prevention initiatives.
| S-EPMC7201517 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveTo ascertain how sleep health knowledge is translated to early care and education (ECE) programs, using a multi-component environmental scan.MethodsA website scan identified organizations' sleep content re: recommended practices, developmental effects, and "actionable" ratings (0-2). ECE staff surveys assessed preparedness, practices, and beliefs about addressing sleep health and sleep problems in ECE programs. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from the ECE, pediatric and sleep communities assessed awareness, priorities, and practices at their organizations.ResultsOf 15 websites scanned, half lacked sleep content on links to development, optimal duration, or scientific background. ECE staff (n = 31) were comfortable speaking to parents about healthy sleep, and with incorporating sleep education and guidance into ECE. Stakeholders (n = 15) rated healthy sleep as a high relevance, but lower priority issue. Within ECE settings stakeholders reported that knowledge about specific links to health and development was poor and that sleep health was often obscured by "safe sleep" issues. Their recommendations included: linking sleep health to "hot topics" such as obesity or preschool suspensions and expulsions, integrating it with the teaching of routines, and raising public awareness.ConclusionDespite understanding that healthy sleep promotes school readiness, there is insufficiently specific, actionable information in ECE training, programs, or policies. Findings suggest a need for an awareness campaign with clear, actionable messaging, dissemination of turnkey materials, and integration with policy and professional training systems.Trial registration- ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT03556462.
| S-EPMC6980449 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPost pregnancy family planning includes both postpartum and post-abortion periods. Post pregnancy women remain one of the most vulnerable groups with high unmet need for family planning. This review aimed to describe and assess the quality of the evidence on implementation strategies, facilitators, and barriers to scaling up and sustaining post pregnancy family planning.MethodsElectronic bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Global Index Medicus) were searched from inception to October 2022 for primary quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method reports on scaling up post pregnancy family planning. Abstracts, titles, and full-text papers were assessed according to the inclusion criteria to select studies regardless of country, language, publication status, or methodological limitations. Data were extracted and methodological quality assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. The convergent integrated approach and a deductive thematic synthesis were used to identify themes and sub-themes of strategies to scale up post pregnancy family planning. The health system building blocks were used to summarize barriers and facilitators. GRADE-CERQual was used to assess our confidence in the findings.ResultsTwenty-nine reports (published 2005-2022) were included: 19 quantitative, 7 qualitative, and 3 mixed methods. Seven were from high-income countries, and twenty-two from LMIC settings. Sixty percent of studies had an unclear risk of bias. The included reports used either separate or bundled strategies for scaling-up post pregnancy family planning. These included strategies for healthcare infrastructure, policy and regulation, financing, human resource, and people at the point of care. Strategies that target the point of care (women and / or their partners) contributed to 89.66% (26/29) of the reports either independently or as part of a bundle. Point of care strategies increase adoption and coverage of post pregnancy contraceptive methods.ConclusionPost pregnancy family planning scaling up strategies, representing a range of styles and settings, were associated with improved post pregnancy contraceptive use. Factors that influence the success of implementing these strategies include issues related to counselling, integration in postnatal or post-abortion care, and religious and social norms.Trial registrationCenter for Open Science, OSF.IO/EDAKM.
| S-EPMC10357879 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In the U.S., the federal government and dozens of cities have invested in home visiting programs intended to be universally available at scale to support caregivers of young children. Evaluations find that participation in these programs reduces maternal mortality, improves maternal mental health, and supports children's healthy development. Yet, many parents of young children who are invited to participate in home visiting programs do not enroll. This study fills gaps in the literature by examining how the broader social context affects Black families' engagement in home visiting programs. Via focus groups, survey data from a socioeconomically diverse sample of Black parents across the U.S., and a pre-registered field experiment, we capture views of and experiences with early childhood home visiting programs. We assess the responsiveness of these views to the broader social context and examine implications for interest and participation in home visiting programs. Focus group participants described benefits of home visiting while also expressing concerns about being unfairly judged about their parenting practices and the risk of a home visit resulting in child welfare system involvement. One out of four Black parents surveyed associated the term "home visit" with surveillance (i.e., government scrutiny of parenting), and associating "home visit" with surveillance was empirically correlated with lower participation in home visiting programs. Further, our pre-registered survey experiment showed a causal link between surveillance fears and home visit engagement. Reading a news article about a family's experience with the child welfare system decreased interest in home visiting among Black parents, while labeling a program as "new baby wellness" rather than "home visit" increased interest. Collectively, the findings point to ways in which the broader social context of parenting/parental surveillance negatively affects Black parents' participation in early childhood home visiting programs despite their interest.
| S-EPMC11785340 | biostudies-literature
Project description:School-based programs seem promising for child abuse prevention. However, research mainly focused on sexual child abuse and knowledge is lacking on how individual program components contribute to the effectiveness of school-based prevention programs for any form of child abuse. This study aimed to examine the overall effect of these school-based programs on (a) children's child abuse-related knowledge and (b) self-protection skills by conducting two three-level meta-analyses. Furthermore, moderator analyses were performed to identify how program components and delivery techniques were associated with effectiveness. A literature search yielded 34 studies (158 effect sizes; N = 11,798) examining knowledge of child abuse and 22 studies (99 effect sizes; N = 7804) examining self-protection skills. A significant overall effect was found of school-based programs on both knowledge (d = 0.572, 95% CI [0.408, 0.737], p < 0.001) and self-protection skills (d = 0.528, 95% CI [0.262, 0.794], p < 0.001). The results of the first meta-analysis on children's child abuse knowledge suggest that program effects were larger in programs addressing social-emotional skills of children (d = 0.909 for programs with this component versus d = 0.489 for programs without this component) and self-blame (d = 0.776 versus d = 0.412), and when puppets (d = 1.096 versus d = 0.500) and games or quizzes (d = 0.966 versus d = 0.494) were used. The second meta-analysis on children's self-protections skills revealed that no individual components or techniques were associated with increased effectiveness. Several other study and program characteristics did moderate the overall effects and are discussed. In general, school-based prevention programs show positive effects on both knowledge and self-protection skills, and the results imply that program effectiveness can be improved by implementing specific components and techniques.
| S-EPMC8176877 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectiveAn increasing number of children are socially transitioning to live as their identified genders rather than their assigned sexes, yet little empirical work has examined the decision-making process surrounding social transitions. We aimed to understand (1) why parents and their gender nonconforming children do and do not consider social transitions and (2) whether families discuss social transitions both before and after initial social transitions.MethodsStudies 1 and 2 involved telephone interviews of parents of socially transitioned transgender children (N=60) and gender nonconforming children who were not socially transitioned (N=60), respectively. Study 3 involved an online survey of 266 parents of socially transitioned transgender children.ResultsParents of socially transitioned transgender children (Study 1) and parents of gender nonconforming children who are not socially transitioned (Study 2) often reported that their children had led the decision to transition or not. Most parents of gender nonconforming children who had not transitioned had discussed transitioning (Study 2) and most parents of socially-transitioned transgender children reported discussing the option of future re-transitions (Study 3).ConclusionsParents often report that they and their children are discussing social transitions, a process that children are leading. In contrast to possible concerns about discussing transitions, our results suggest that many families openly discuss the possibility of their children transitioning (or re-transitioning), yet these discussion do not inevitably lead to an imminent transition.
| S-EPMC7453930 | biostudies-literature