307946
Guidelines for Engaging Parents of Children with Special Health Care Needs
enrollment for 65,000+ children with special health care needs statewide. The CMS South
region enrolls 8,269 children with approximately 40 nurses providing care coordination.
Limited resources are compounded by the fact that these children have multiple needs and
families often struggle to navigate the health system. It is especially important to develop a
strategic plan for engaging and empowering families in the care coordination of their children.
Methods: This concept evolved from an organized and thorough literature review and a series
of meetings with the CMS’ Regional Medical Director and teams. The results of the literature
review were shared at CMS Future of Care Coordination meetings.
Results: Used a three-part framework for building partnerships with parents published by the
National Academy for State Health Policy to develop a strategic plan for improving CMS parent
engagement. Level 1 in the NASHP model requires parents effectively engaging with their
children; Level 2, parents shaping services; and Level 3, the pinnacle, is parents shaping policies
and systems.
Discussion: Increasing parent engagement has a great potential for improving health outcomes
for children with special needs. When examining this from a large organizational perspective,
this strategy for improving parent engagement will be a low cost, high yield opportunity that
will increase organization efficiency. Additionally, it also has the potential for improving the
health and well-being of families within the region.
Learning Areas:
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programsLearning Objectives:
List the three levels for engaging parents as partners.
Design a plan for parent engagement in a local health department.
Keyword(s): Children With Special Needs, Family Involvement
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: This abstract came as part of my capstone project to which I completed over 150 hours of field experience. Health system outcomes improvements has been one of my areas of interest as an MPH student and health professional.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.