Service through Community-Academic Partnerships
The Pediatric Advocacy Program engages in community service activities aimed at promoting child health and reducing health disparities, by harnessing the unique resources that a medical center and academic institution can provide. All service activiies are in partnership with community-based organizations serving children in the Bay Area.
OBESITY PREVENTION
Helping parents organize their nutrition & physical activity program calendar (Oct. '05)
Parents present their program to other parents and interested community members (Dec. '05)
Parents and children participate in a physical activity pilot class (April '06)
Healthy Weight Healthy Futures Program: Partnering with Head Start in East Palo Alto
- A collaboration between Head Start in East Palo Alto and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) to facilitate the development of a parent designed, family-centered obesity prevention program for preschool aged children and parents.
- The program was designed to improve dietary and physical activity behaviors of Latino preschool age children and their families.
- Parents participated in a series of qualitative focus groups to examine strategies and barriers for promoting health dietary and physical activity behaviors, and to evaluate best practice models for obesity prevention. A subset of parents participated in working group sessions to develop a basic framework for a culturally appropriate and community-specific obesity prevention program for preschool aged children.
- Participating parents presented their program framework to other Head Start parents, staff, and community guests. The framework and program plan received overwhelming support from parents and Head Start staff.
- Initial program funding received through a First 5 San Mateo County Planning Grant.
- Two pediatric residents from LPCH with AAP CATCH funding, are currently gathering and modifying existing best practice curricula, and pilot testing nutrition and physcial activity classes with Head Start parents.
Un Equilibrio San (A Healthy Balance): A pediatric resident working in East San Jose to reduce childhood obesity
- A resident developed project that started through a collaboration with the Mayfair Improvement Initiative (MII, now Somos Mayfair) in San Jose, CA. Project funding obtained through an AAP CATCH grant.
- Pediatric resident, Anisha Patel, MD, began working with MII promatores to provide health education to neighborhood residents. Parents and community members identified pediatric obesity as a concern and Anisha set off to help parents reduce obesity in their community.
Anisha Patel, teaches parents fun exercise ideas for parents and children in East San Jose
- Through a series of focus groups, parents identified the local school field as their top concern. The field was in need of repair to increase physical activity among school children, and to make it a place were the community can go to be active.
- With the support of the school principal, planning meetings were held at the school, letter writing campaings for funding were conducted, several mini-grants were submitted, and meetings with members from the School Board were held.
- Additionally, nutrition and physicial activity classes were held for parents, and several field days were held for children, with help from Stanford Medical Students and undergraduates.
- A grant for $15,000 was received from the Valley Foundation to support the field renovations, and the School Board has agreed to maintain the field.
ASTHMA REDUCTION
- Bilingual asthma management classes for RCSD parents and children were designed and facilitated by LPCH pediatric residents (134 parents/26 children trained).
- RCSD teacher and staff trainings were designed and facilitated by LPCH residents (190 teachers/staff trained).
- Indoor air quality assessments at seven RCSD schools were conducted by Stanford Medical students as part of a Community Health Assessment Course. Results were analyzed, summariezed, and reported to the RCSD and the East Palo Alto Asthma Task Force.
- Staff from the Pediatric Advocacy Program currently serve as members of the East Palo Alto Asthma Task Force, and Janine Bishop is currently serving as the Task Force Chair.
HEALTH INSURANCE FOR LOW INCOME CHILDREN
- Collaboration with LPCH staff and local community partners to develop a system for Packard staff, physicians, and financial counselors to refer uninsured patients to outreach workers in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties for insurance enrollment and other program assistance.
- Staff from the Pediatric Advocacy Program serve on external community committees and councils on child health insurance issues .
- Coordination of several enrollment events in collaboration with the Children's Health Initiatives in both Santa Clara (SCC CHI) and San Mateo (SMC CHI) counties. With assistance from LPCH staff and Stanford students, over 300 applications for children's health insurance have been completed.
In the News:
Avoid lazy, grazing days: How to keep kids eating healthfully when school's out for summer. June 2, 2006. Herald-Mail.com (Hagerstown, Maryland) by Kristin Wilson
School nutrition is activists' passion: How 4 dedicated people work to help Bay Area students eat right. August 28, 2006. San Francisco Chronicle, by Stacy Finz.
Fighting obesity through the power of parents. July 28, 2006. Palo Alto Weekly, by Alexandria Rocha.
Rich foods a big threat to poor kids. December 3, 2004. San Jose Mercury News.
East Palo Alto targeting asthma: Schools lead pus in 'hot spot' city. October 29, 2004. San Jose Mercury News, by Kim Vo.
