Child Care Health Consultation Improves Infant and Toddler Care

• Published in: Journal of pediatric health care Vol. 31; no. 6; pp. 684 - 694
• Main Authors: Johnston, Rosemary, DelConte, Beth A., Ungvary, Libby, Fiene, Richard, Aronson, Susan S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Child care; child care health consultation; Child Day Care Centers - organization & administration; Child Day Care Centers - standards; Child Health Services - organization & administration; Child Health Services - standards; Child, Preschool; Cross-Over Studies; Emergency Treatment; Female; Guideline Adherence; health and safety; Humans; Infant; infants and toddlers; Intersectoral Collaboration; Male; Nursing; Pennsylvania; Professional Competence - standards; Quality Improvement; Referral and Consultation; Safety; Child care; child care health consultation; infants and toddlers; health and safety
• ISSN: 0891-5245; 1532-656X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2017.05.005

Many families enroll their infants and toddlers in early education and child care programs. The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics recruited 32 child care centers that care for infants and toddlers to be linked with a child care health consultant (CCHC). Project staff assigned the centers alternately to an immediate intervention or a 1-year delayed intervention (contrast) group. At entry into the project, and then 1 and 2 years later, an evaluator assessed center compliance with 13 standards for infants and toddler care selected from Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards (3rd ed.). Project staff linked the Immediate Intervention centers with a CCHC in Year 1. In Year 2, in a crossover comparison, project staff linked Contrast centers with a CCHC. Working with a CCHC effectively improved compliance with some selected health and safety standards.