Partnership to Build Sustainable Public Health Nurse Child Care Health Support

Abstract

Child care health consultation, an emerging health care delivery system aimed at improving the health and well-being of children enrolled in child care settings, is consistent with the public health core function of assurance. Public health nurses are the primary workforce for such consultation. Few states have critical masses of consultants, and many are struggling to financially support such programs. Through an academic-community partnership, Georgia's public health nurses are building a consultative system of child care health support. This partnership focuses on adding value in child care while strategically and financially supporting the sustainability of this population-focused practice.

Conceptual Model for Partnership and Sustainability in Global Health

“…The use of a theoretical framework for global health nursing practice will provide the profession with a model that encourages effective partnerships for improved project or program design, stronger community involvement, and empowerment and leadership for sustainability. The model is consistent with partnership notions found in public health nursing practice and in the community engagement literature (Gaines, Wold, Bean, Brannon, & Leary, 2004;Tindana et al, 2007). The framework reflects elements of engagement, partnership, collaboration, and equity central to Community Based Participatory Research and to public health approaches (Hashagen, 2002;Lanz, Israel, Schulz, & Reyes, 2006).…”

Child Care Health Consultation Programs in California: Models, Services, and Facilitators

“…Public health nurses with pediatric experience have the skills to become health consultants (Evers, 2002; Wold, Gaines, & Leary, 2006). Based on our experience with the Linkages Project, pediatric nurses who want to be child care health consultants can follow these recommendations: first, attend a continuing education training program based on the NTI for Child Care Health Consultants' curriculum to learn the skills needed to address the health and safety needs of young children in ECE programs, ECE regulations and standards, and how to collaboratively work with the ECE community (Cianciolo et al, 2004; Gaines et al, 2004). Second, identify technical assistance and a network of other child care health consultants.…”

“…Nurses in many states have played leading roles in the child care health consultation field (Cianciolo et al, 2004;Crowley, 1990;Evers, 2002;Gaines, Wold, Bean, Brannon, & Leary, 2004;Lucarelli, 2002;Passarelli, 1987;Ulione & Crowley, 1997). Surveys of parents and ECE providers show that there is a need for health consultants in ECE programs to address their health and safety concerns (Crowley, 1990;Gaines, Wold, Spencer, & Leary, 2005;Gupta, Shuman, Taveras, Kulldorf, & Finkelstein, 2005;Taveras, LaPelle, Gupta, & Finkelstein, 2006) and many nurses are providing these services.…”

Use of Public Health Nurse Competencies to Develop a Childcare Health Consultant Workforce

“…For example, suggesting a change that will result in a childcare program having to increase fees beyond those affordable by the families they serve will likely fail and does not meet the goal of accessible childcare. Thus, in training, PHN‐CCHCs learned to develop improvement plans by using a creating process described by Fritz (1995) in which all partners, the consultant, and the childcare staff, identify the goals they are trying to achieve, candidly examine the current situation relative to those goals (factors that will both hinder and foster their realization), and then develop actions that will allow the program to progress in a systematic way toward the goals (Domain 6—Basic public health sciences skills; Domain 7—Financial planning and management skills; Domain 8—Leadership and systems thinking skills) (Gaines, Wold, Bean, Brannon, & Leary, 2004).…”