Developmental Monitoring and Referral for Low-Income Children Served by WIC: Program Development and Implementation Outcomes

Objective To develop, implement, and assess implementation outcomes for a developmental monitoring and referral program for children in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Methods Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Learn the Signs. Ac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Maternal and child health journal 2022-02, Vol.26 (2), p.230-241
Main Authors: Farmer, Janet E., Falk, Lee Walker, Clark, Mary J., Mayfield, Wayne A., Green, Katie K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Care and treatment
Child
Child development
Children & youth
Clinics
Disease control
Disease prevention
Early intervention
Evaluation
Families & family life
Federal aid to child health services
Federal aid to infant health services
Female
Focus Groups
Food and nutrition
Food Assistance
Food stamps
From the Field
Gynecology
Health aspects
Health care
Health disparities
Health Personnel
Health promotion
Humans
Infant
Low income groups
Maternal & child health
Maternal and Child Health
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Methods
Nutrition
Nutrition counseling
Parents & parenting
Pediatrics
Poor children
Population Economics
Poverty
Program Development
Public Health
Referral and Consultation
Sociology
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Summary:Objective To develop, implement, and assess implementation outcomes for a developmental monitoring and referral program for children in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Methods Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. campaign, the program was developed and replicated in two phases at 20 demographically diverse WIC clinics in eastern Missouri. Parents were asked to complete developmental milestone checklists for their children, ages 2 months to 4 years, during WIC eligibility recertification visits; WIC staff referred children with potential concerns to their healthcare providers for developmental screening. WIC staff surveys and focus groups were used to assess initial implementation outcomes. Results In both phases, all surveyed staff ( n  = 46) agreed the program was easy to use. Most (≥ 80%) agreed that checklists fit easily into clinic workflow and required ≤ 5 min to complete. Staff (≥ 55%) indicated using checklists with ≥ 75% of their clients. 92% or more reported referring one or more children with potential developmental concerns. According to 80% of staff, parents indicated checklists helped them learn about development and planned to share them with healthcare providers. During the second phase, 18 of 20 staff surveyed indicated the program helped them learn when to refer children and how to support parents, and 19 felt the program promoted healthy development. Focus groups supported survey findings, and all clinics planned to sustain the program. Conclusions Initial implementation outcomes supported this approach to developmental monitoring and referral in WIC. The program has potential to help low-income parents identify possible concerns and access support.
ISSN:1092-7875
1573-6628
DOI:10.1007/s10995-021-03319-9