In Oklahoma, the Children First (C1) program was legislatively mandated with the mission of improving the health and wellbeing of children and families, and of decreasing child abuse. Initiated in 1997, the same year as the legislation, the program was substantially enhanced by previous efforts to evaluate prenatal and childhood development programs that enabled the staff to be ready for decision making once the new legislation was passed and, thus, substantial work had been accomplished as the new program began. The nurse home visiting program chosen now is in its fifth year, and has entered a period that can leave a program vulnerable if not managed wisely as the initial excitement of start-up changes to one of maintenance. The strategies used in Oklahoma to monitor fidelity of the program overtime, to achieve and maintain a qualified and stable nursing workforce (turnover 25% over three years), and provide data to supervisors for quality improvement (caseload, completed to expected visit schedule, content of visit monitoring). Initial and ongoing training as well as accessible data monitoring systems have enabled a level of self-management on the part of the public health nurses and their supervisors. These strategies and systems will be described in detail to assist other programs.
Learning Objectives: Identify the factors important to initiating and maintaining a high quality public health program overtime
Keywords: Public Health Nursing, Public Health Policy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma State Department of Health
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.