by Ali Goodyear, MPH, WCAAP program manager
As part of the Pediatrics Supporting Parents initiative, WCAAP is facilitating a learning collaborative to support pediatric primary care teams with evidence-based practices to promote early relational health and improve child, family, and healthcare professional wellbeing. The learning collaborative, which kicked off in September and will run through August 2025, is supporting 11 clinics in eight counties across Washington state. All participating clinics include Community Health Workers (CHWs) as part of their care teams. Throughout the 12-month collaborative, clinics will receive training, consultation, and support with the following:
- Generate and Teach Health Equity Routinely (GATHER)
- Promoting First Relationships in Pediatrics (PFR)
- Resilient Attitudes and Living for Professionals (REAL Pro)
- Reach Out and Read
- First Approach Skills Training-Early Childhood
- Parent and family engagement
- Sustaining the CHW role
So far in 2024, several pediatric providers at participating clinics joined WCAAP’s Fall GATHER cohort. Additionally, over 50 multidisciplinary team members from participating clinics received training in the PFR in Pediatrics curriculum, which teaches participants how to nurture and support the parent-child relationship during everyday clinic interactions with families and children. Trainees included pediatricians, CHWs, early childhood developmental navigators, nurses, social workers, behavioral health therapists, lactation consultants, registered dieticians, and others. In 2025, participating clinics will receive ongoing support with PFR, as well as training and support in other evidence-based models to promote child, family, and healthcare professional wellbeing. Together, these models aim to support healthcare professionals in strengthening parent-child relationships; promoting relational health and wellbeing; supporting healthy social and emotional development; and centering families in the delivery of care.