142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

304857
Increasing collaboration between Nurse-Family Partnership and Child Protective Services: A multiple case study

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Wednesday, November 19, 2014 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Venice Ng, MPH, CHES , Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO
Roman Ayele, MPH , Health Systems, Management, and Policy, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
Suzuho Shimasaki, MPH , Community and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
Christina Ostrom, MSW, LCSW , Invest in Kids, Denver, CO
Gregory Tung, PhD MPH , Health Systems, Management, and Policy, Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO
David Olds, PhD , Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO
Background: The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) is a voluntary maternal and early childhood program designed to improve the health and development of mothers and their babies.  In a series of randomized controlled trials, NFP has improved prenatal health, child health and development, and maternal life-course, as well as decreased the incidence of child abuse and neglect. The effectiveness of NFP in decreasing child maltreatment is influenced by nurses’ collaboration with Child Protective Services (CPS).  The objective of this project was to explore the spectrum of collaboration practices and factors perceived by NFP and CPS workers as barriers and facilitators to effective collaboration in Colorado. 

Methods: We conducted a multiple case study informed by focus groups and qualitative interviews with NFP nurses, CPS workers, and other stakeholders. A grounded theory approach was used to iteratively identify new themes and explore those themes in subsequent cases and analysis.  Seven NFP sites involving 12 counties were purposely selected to participate in the research. 

Results: Levels of collaboration between NFP and CPS varied significantly.  Perspectives and attitudes surrounding what constitutes effective collaboration also varied across sites and organizations. Key factors associated with closer collaboration include: co-location, open communication on joint cases, established relationships, mutual understanding of roles, and common philosophy in supporting families.

Conclusion: Our results highlight both models of effective collaboration and associated facilitators and barriers.  This information should be used to design training and educational opportunities for both NFP and CPS workers as well as to design system-level interventions to facilitate effective collaboration.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Discuss research that provides knowledge relevant to programmatic, research, and policy fields Discuss the facilitators and barriers for collaborations locally and state-wide

Keyword(s): Child Abuse, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a professional research assistant at the Prevention Research Center at the University of Colorado Denver where I lead all research efforts on a qualitative child abuse prevention study. Previously, I assisted on studies looking at intimate partner violence, social cognition and emotions, and ethnography surrounding immigrant perceptions. I am also a CHES with experience in facilitating reproductive health and youth leadership workshops.
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.