Preventive Services Improvement Initiative

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ITS A FAMILY AFFAIR 101 INVOLVING FAMILIES in
THEIR CHILDRENS HEALTH CARE Heidi Britton Dion
Urbana School Health Center, Illinois Carrie
Baker Ohio School Based Health Care
Association Tiffany A. Clarke NASBHC June 27,
2008
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DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

• The National Assembly on School-Based Health
  Care strives to ensure balance independence,
  objectivity and scientific rigor in all of their
  educational programs. All faculty members
  participating in this program have been required
  to disclose any real or apparent conflict (s) of
  interest that may have a direct bearing on the
  subject matter of this program. This includes
  relationships with pharmaceutical companies,
  biomedical device manufacturers or other
  corporations whose products or services are
  related to the subject matter of the presentation
  topic. The intent of this policy is to identify
  openly any conflict of interest so that the
  students may form their own judgments about the
  presentation with the full disclosure of the
  facts. In addition, faculty is expected to openly
  disclose any off-label, experimental or
  investigational uses of drugs or devices in their
  presentations. DESIGNATION STATEMENT
• The American Public Health Association designates
  this educational activity for a maximum of 1.0
  AMA PRA Category 1.5 Credit(s)TM. 

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Workshop Objectives

• Participants will be able to
• Assess self interest and identify why it is
  important to engage families in SBHCs
• Understand the different levels and strategies of
  family engagement within a SBHC
• Foster pro-active reflection, planning and
  behavioral incorporation of a multicultural lens
  within their family engagement process
• Identify 10 resources they can use to assess,
  plan, and implement parent engagement/involvement
  strategies.

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Background Perspective

• NASBHC Study on SBHCs helping parents talk with
  children about reproductive health care. (2002,
  www.nasbhc.org)
• Study intent identify best practices
• Study findings no list of best practices
• Family Engagement is a process
• Supported by good curriculums and process

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Findings

• School-based Health Centers are ideally situated
  to assist in a broader, comprehensive approach to
  family engagement. Their expertise in health and
  social issues, including sex and reproduction,
  would be an important asset. They may be able to
  lead these efforts, but it is likely that they
  must be part of a larger endeavor.

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Where are you when it comes to Family Engagement?

• Not a quiz you can study for
• Tongue in cheek
• Encourages a discussion
• Maybe a chuckle or two
• Keep track of your answers
• a, b, c, d

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Scoring Guide

• Scoring Key
• a 1 point of a answers ___ x 1
  _____
• b 2 points of b answers ___ x 2
  _____
• c 3 points of c answers ___ x 3
  _____
• d 4 points of d answers ___ x 4
  _____
• Total Points _____

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Where are you?
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Role play
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So Why Invest in Family Engagement?

• SHORT ANSWER
• It is one of the most powerful ways to
• increase student and school achievement

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Families matter for a range of social and
academic outcomes

• Children with engaged parents
• Have enhanced early and elementary literacy
• Show greater school readiness
• Earn higher grades and test scores
• Are promoted and earn credits
• Adapt well to school and attend regularly
• Have better social skills and behavior
• Graduate and go on to higher education

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So Why Invest in Family Engagement?

• LONG ANSWER BECAUSE WE ARE PARTNERS IN
• THE WELFARE OF THEIR CHILDREN
• Communication is good - Be transparent with
  families.
• Advocacy you need to be valued by families, and
  they will advocate for you.
• Involvement with school - can help you find YOUR
  voice in the school. They can speak where you
  cannot.
• Understand their needs, concerns, lifestyles so
  you can help heal them. If you dont know their
  needs and problems, how can you suggest to them
  solutions? Your solutions need to be relevant to
  them.

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Discussion
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4 Levels of Engagement

• 1. Individual Actively informed about and part
  of the healthcare decisions of their child a
  personal relationship with the childs care
  givers
• 2. Center Active in the governance and clinic
  level activities parent advisory councils

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4 Levels of Engagement

• 3. Advocacy Active in advocacy for the
  sustainability for the clinic and other related
  policy initiatives parents and youth
  story-banking their experiences and sharing them
  with local community
• 4. State/ national governance Involved with the
  state association and/or national youth and
  families coming to NASBHC convention

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Framing Families into the picture

1. Engagement forming a connection with families
   from the first point of contact. For examples, on
   an individual level clinicians meet families
   where they are right now, establishing and
   maintaining connections throughout
2. Collaboration actively partnering with families
   in the development of treatment goals
   (mental/physical/nutritional). Clinicians turn to
   families for insight and knowledge to tailor the
   therapeutic processes to issues at home in the
   community

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Framing Families into the picture

1. Support serving as a positive resource center
   for families. Clinicians direct families to
   viable supports within the community that augment
   the treatment process
2. Empowerment promoting family involvement at the
   highest level. Clinicians reduce perceived
   barriers, equip families with the means to
   contribute and guide the treatment process, and
   help to instill self-efficacy

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Strategies for Engagement

• The revolving door
• Ongoing engagement
• Leadership development

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The Revolving door

• GO TO WHERE THEY ARE
• Where do they gather? (soccer games, church,
  etc)
• What are their interests and needs as guardians?
• What could meet their needs?
• Youth-centered community organizations?
• With which groups and activities are the students
  in your center involved?

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Ongoing (relational) Engagement Going on a
scavenger hunt

• Interests beyond the SBHC
• Other health care concerns
• Other community concerns
• Involvement in the community
• Network of family and friends
• Professional interests

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Ongoing Engagement Learning about the community

• Historical context
• Economic and politic issues
• Cultural and tradition-specific areas
• Medical orientation
• Diet
• Religion
• For detailed questions
• http//ctb.ku.edu/tools/en/sub_section_tools_1163.
  htm

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Leadership Development

• "Trust men and they will be true to you treat
  them greatly and they will show themselves
  great.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson

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Where to start

• Determine who from the SBHC and school community
  could represent the interests and needs of the
  SBHC.
• Decide the first three steps you can take to
  make connections with the targeted list above.

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How do we engage families

• The research tells us
• Using phone calls or e-mail to contact families
  helps reduce perceived barriers to service access
• Caregivers involved in developing treatment plans
  for their child report higher levels of
  self-efficacy, which is related to greater
  investment in the treatment process
• Collaborating with caregivers in the treatment
  process reduces the amount of time students spend
  in the treatment enviroment

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Tips

• Ask more Why questions
• Share something from your life with them
• Dont give up It will take a lot of
  conversations to find an interested family member
• Take notes after your conversations
• Keep a log of common gathering places and
  activities
• Be genuinely interested about their lives

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Additional Tips

• Decide who the best messenger is. It doesnt
  always have to be you and often shouldnt be.
• HAVE A PLAN. It will help with retention and
  recruitment. Others want to get involved with
  something organized. Word of mouth works too!

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Putting it into Practice

• Attending open houses
• Attending Registrations
• Sitting and talking in the waiting room
• Parents engagement in handing out fliers and
  information
• Speaking to different organizations, groups,
  school administration ect
• Providing asthma education to parents
• Involvement in advisory boards
• Relationship building with your school
  administrators and board members

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Staying Connected

• Carrie Baker
• carrie_at_bakernonprofits.com
• Heidi Britton
• HBritton_at_cuphd.org
• Tiffany Clarke
• tclarke_at_nasbhc.org

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Questions?