The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period
Objective: Addressing family psychosocial and mental health needs in the perinatal and early childhood period has a significant impact on long-term maternal and child health and is key to achieving health equity. We aimed to (1) describe and evaluate the role of an Early Childhood Community Health W...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319241234478 |
| _version_ | 1797271968689422336 |
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| author | Sahar Moheize Mandy Hsu Luz Adriana Matiz Patricia Peretz Kristy Medina Amanda Esteves Dodi Meyer Beth Maletz Lucie Pineda Evelyn Berger-Jenkins |
| author_facet | Sahar Moheize Mandy Hsu Luz Adriana Matiz Patricia Peretz Kristy Medina Amanda Esteves Dodi Meyer Beth Maletz Lucie Pineda Evelyn Berger-Jenkins |
| author_sort | Sahar Moheize |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: Addressing family psychosocial and mental health needs in the perinatal and early childhood period has a significant impact on long-term maternal and child health and is key to achieving health equity. We aimed to (1) describe and evaluate the role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker (EC-CHW) to address psychosocial needs and improve psychosocial well-being for families in the perinatal period, and (2) examine factors associated with completion of goals. Methods: An EC-CHW program was modeled after an existing hospital CHW program for children with special healthcare needs and chronic disease. An evaluation was conducted using repeated measures to assess improvements in psychosocial outcomes such as family stress and protective factors after participating in the EC-CHW program. Linear regression was also used to assess factors associated with completion of goals. Results: Over a 21-month period (January 2019-September 2020), 161 families were referred to the EC-CHW. The most common reasons for referral included social needs and navigating systems for child developmental and behavioral concerns. There were high rates of family engagement in services (87%). After 6 months, families demonstrated statistically significant improvements in protective factors including positive parenting knowledge and social support. Only 1 key predictor variable, maternal depression, showed significant associations with completion of goals in the multivariable analysis. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the need for, and potential impact of an EC-CHW in addressing psychosocial and mental health needs in the perinatal period, and in a primary care setting. Impacts on protective factors are promising. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:17:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c3841bfacd894c7da9447d70560d3f90 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2150-1327 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:17:50Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c3841bfacd894c7da9447d70560d3f902024-03-06T11:03:27ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Primary Care & Community Health2150-13272024-03-011510.1177/21501319241234478The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood PeriodSahar Moheize0Mandy Hsu1Luz Adriana Matiz2Patricia Peretz3Kristy Medina4Amanda Esteves5Dodi Meyer6Beth Maletz7Lucie Pineda8Evelyn Berger-Jenkins9Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USAColumbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USANewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USANewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USANewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USANewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USANewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USAColumbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY, USAGreater Harlem Healthy Start at the Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, New York, NY, USANewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USAObjective: Addressing family psychosocial and mental health needs in the perinatal and early childhood period has a significant impact on long-term maternal and child health and is key to achieving health equity. We aimed to (1) describe and evaluate the role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker (EC-CHW) to address psychosocial needs and improve psychosocial well-being for families in the perinatal period, and (2) examine factors associated with completion of goals. Methods: An EC-CHW program was modeled after an existing hospital CHW program for children with special healthcare needs and chronic disease. An evaluation was conducted using repeated measures to assess improvements in psychosocial outcomes such as family stress and protective factors after participating in the EC-CHW program. Linear regression was also used to assess factors associated with completion of goals. Results: Over a 21-month period (January 2019-September 2020), 161 families were referred to the EC-CHW. The most common reasons for referral included social needs and navigating systems for child developmental and behavioral concerns. There were high rates of family engagement in services (87%). After 6 months, families demonstrated statistically significant improvements in protective factors including positive parenting knowledge and social support. Only 1 key predictor variable, maternal depression, showed significant associations with completion of goals in the multivariable analysis. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the need for, and potential impact of an EC-CHW in addressing psychosocial and mental health needs in the perinatal period, and in a primary care setting. Impacts on protective factors are promising.https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319241234478 |
| spellingShingle | Sahar Moheize Mandy Hsu Luz Adriana Matiz Patricia Peretz Kristy Medina Amanda Esteves Dodi Meyer Beth Maletz Lucie Pineda Evelyn Berger-Jenkins The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period Journal of Primary Care & Community Health |
| title | The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period |
| title_full | The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period |
| title_fullStr | The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period |
| title_short | The Role of an Early Childhood Community Health Worker in Addressing Psycho-Social Needs in the Perinatal and Early Childhood Period |
| title_sort | role of an early childhood community health worker in addressing psycho social needs in the perinatal and early childhood period |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319241234478 |
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