Ecocultural Family Interview Project, 2008-2011: Lessons learned

The Ecocultural Family Interview (EFI) Project is a three-year research project embedded within Empowering Families of Milwaukee (EFM), a comprehensive home visitation program at the City of Milwaukee Health Department. Since its inception in 2006, EFM has demonstrated a significant decrease in instances of low birth weight and prematurity for babies born in the program. EFM instituted the EFI Project in 2008 to help better assess families' physical and mental health, social, and economic needs. The EFI Project used the Ecocultural Family Interview as an assessment tool, rather than utilizing traditional, multiple-choice assessment forms. The Ecocultural Family Interview is a strengths-based, guided conversation with families about their daily routine – how they plan, implement, and sustain family activities – and how this helps or hinders family functioning. Research has shown that the information revealed in a family's daily routine is what matters most in children's lives and serves as the best indicator of family functioning and well-being. Throughout the interviews, the researchers listened for the family's strengths, the resources and supports available to the family, any constraints or obstacles the family must live with, and how they problem-solve to overcome these challenges. The researchers hypothesized that, by asking these questions in this unique, open-ended manner, and asking the families to tell their stories in their own words, new information will be elicited. This information was then used to create better care plans, enhance service delivery, and served as a helpful tool for continuous quality improvement in the EFM program.