The Maternity Care Coalition (MCC)'s MOMobile program delivers community-based outreach and family support services to pregnant woman in high-risk neighborhoods in Philadelphia. The services provided by the MOMobile are critical to bolstering maternal and child health. Community Health Workers, MOMobile Advocates, are the lynchpin in this effort. One of the challenges to community-based outreach programs is integrating research findings and governmental policy changes into the standard of practice. MCC's efforts have been successful for two reasons - strong Advocate-client relationships and intensive Advocate training. Two examples illustrate. First, recent research confirmed what MCC has long known - domestic violence prevents positive maternal and child health outcomes. MCC responded to the research by integrating the research-tested questions on domestic violence into client needs assessment discussions. Subsequently, Advocates received specialized training on identifying and counseling clients experiencing domestic violence. Secondly, the passage of the welfare reform bill in 1997 required the MOMobile program to meet an urgent client need -- to understand what federal policy change meant in their everyday lives. MCC developed educational materials and provided Advocate training on welfare changes, so that Advocates could counsel clients on effectively meeting their work requirement deadlines. This presentation will elaborate how research and policy have been incorporated into MCC practice through strategies that address lead contamination, nicotine exposure, HIV/AIDS, welfare reform and domestic violence.
Learning Objectives: To articulate how research findings and policy changes can be effectively integrated into community health worker programs and to develop strategies to improve service delivery based on new information
Keywords: Research, Policy/Policy Development
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Maternity Care Coalition
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.