Volume 10 — September 12, 2013
SPECIAL TOPIC
A Structured Management Approach to Implementation of Health Promotion Interventions in Head Start
Figure 1 describes the 6 phases of the Health Care Institute strategic implementation. The first step is the Pre–Train-the-Trainers, when leadership teams start drafting their Health Improvement Plans (HIPs), which serve as the backbone of the whole process. The second step is the Train-the-Trainer event, which is focused on the teams learning to use management tools for successful strategic implementation. The third step is Pre-Parents Training, which involves training and engaging all staff and working with them to create the broader community engagement beyond Head Start, assuring strong attendance of parents, establishing a detailed implementation plan, and adapting materials to local needs. The fourth step is the Parents Training Event, the live-group training with parents on health promotion and prevention topics. The fifth step is Follow-Up and Reinforcement, which usually extends over several months after the training to reinforce the content and help stimulate behavior change. The sixth and final step is Graduation, another live-group event with parents and staff to celebrate accomplishments, share success stories, and collect postsurvey data.
Figure 1. Health Care Institute strategic implementation.
Figure 2 describes how the University of California, Los Angeles/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Institute (HCI) has bridged the gap between research and practice. The HCI framework builds management capacity and leadership in the grantees as well as social capital in the community, through its focus on health literacy. The HCI model has been applied to a portfolio of health topics in prevention, such as management of common childhood illnesses, oral health promotion, diabetes and obesity prevention, use of over-the-counter medicines, home safety, vaccinations, and secondhand smoke.
Figure 2. Structured approach to health promotion. Abbreviation: OTC, over the counter.
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