Poster #78 - A multisite case study of integration of Play Promotion into Pediatric Well-Child Visits at Federally Qualified Health Centers

• In Event: Poster Session 06

Abstract

Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds have less opportunities to engage in play. Interventions that promote play are greatly needed since play promotion is crucial for the development of young children, particularly from vulnerable populations. The Prescription for Play program is an intervention that promotes play for development in children ages 18 to 36 months. The program offers free LEGO® DUPLO® bricks to patients and their caregivers/parents. A preliminary study conducted at a Federally Qualified Health Center suggests that play promotion through the Prescription for Play program is potentially beneficial to support caregiver/parent-child play interactions. Moreover, it encourages caregivers/parents to play/spend time with their children, a crucial aspect of early child development. Based on the findings from the preliminary study, the Weitzman Institute, which constitutes the research arm of Community Health Center, Inc., is conducting a multisite case study to assess how exposure to the Prescription for Play program in 5 different pediatric practices across the United States influences caregivers/parents’ play behaviors with their child using the Integrated Behavioral Model. This study was approved by Community Health Center, Inc. Institutional Review Board prior to commencing. Findings from this study will shed light on ways to support children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds to encourage rich play experiences. Caregivers/parents of patients that had an 18, 24, 30, or 36-month well-child visit during the implementation period are invited to participate in a post-intervention survey, which consists of questions related to caregivers/parents’ demographics and constructs of integrated behavioral model: attitudes toward behavior, perceived norms, personal agency, knowledge and skills, salience of behaviors, environmental constraints, and habits. Since the constructs of the Integrated Behavioral Model are related in a systematic path, structural equation modeling will be employed in this study using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) (version 27). Construct validity will be evaluated using the maximum likelihood extraction method of factor analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha will be used to assess internal consistency reliability. In addition to the structural equation modeling analysis, independent-samples t-tests will be conducted with the Integrated Behavioral Model constructs to compare caregivers/parents who engaged in play with their children for at least 15 minutes a day to those who engaged less than 15 minutes a day. However, due to delays in site recruitment, sufficient data has not yet been collected to perform analysis with a large enough sample. Integration of play promotion into pediatric well-child visits might encourage caregivers/parents' behavior regarding play and support children's play experiences, thereby favoring not only the development of healthy children but also caregiver/parent-child relationships. This study will help to create foundational work to establish targets for future public health interventions for caregivers/parents and children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.

Authors

• May Oo, Community Health Center, Inc.
  Presenting Author

• Sonya S Panjwani, Community Health Center, Inc.

• Shelby Anderson-Badbade, Weitzman Institute

• Peyton Rogers, Moses Weitzman Health System

• Idiana Velez, Other

• Lindsey Lehet, Community Health Center, Inc.

• Julie Beckham, Community Health Center, Inc.