142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

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Guidelines for Engaging Parents of Children with Special Health Care Needs

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Jonathan Hooshmand, MPH , Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami: Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Jeffrey Brosco, MD PhD , Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Nadine Francis, MSHRM , Florida Department of Health Children's Medical Services, Boca Raton, FL
Introduction: The Children’s Medical Services Network, Florida’s Title V program, provides

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 programs

Learning 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

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

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.