A research organization dedicated to enabling adults to use health information and services in ways that promote health.

At the first Annual Research Meeting at the University of Washington Tower Sandra Smith presented a scientific poster on preliminary results of a study on the impacts of maternal depression on mothers’ health literacy in the context of home visitation.  To view the poster click here.

2010 Conference Proceedings

Home Visits Using Reflective Approach Improve Functional Health Literacy Among Low-Income Pregnant Women and New Parents

Nearly nine out of 10 adults have difficulty using everyday health information to make good health decisions. The IOM Roundtable on Health Literacy held a meeting on May 27, 2010, to explore areas for research in health literacy, the relationship between health literacy and health disparities, and ways to apply information technology to improve health literacy.

The premier learning opportunity in plain language health communication

Tools and resources for Health Literacy initiatives

The Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective is a health literacy resource from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

This National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy seeks to engage organizations, professionals, policymakers, communities, individuals, and families in a linked, multisector effort to improve health literacy.

National Library of Medicine Webinar: Health Literacy: Beyond Better Information-Sandra Smith

Webinar: “Mining the web: Useful internet resources on health, culture and diversity.” Download the presentation slides and the resource document at http://www.diversityrx.org/events/webinar12 Future webinars are in the works! Presented Julia Puebla Fortier, Executive Director of DiversityRx

This project will integrate health literacy education into its PAT home-based parent education program. This program will increase:

How healthy is your county? A new set of reports rank the overall health of nearly every county in the nation, confirming for the second year the critical role that factors such as education, jobs, income, environment and access to health care play in how healthy people are and how long they live.

http://www.countyhealthrankings.org 

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/services/queries/health_literacy.htmll, one of the Special Queries, to retrieve more health literacy relevant records in PubMed. The pre-formulated search now includes retrieval of citations to articles about self-care perception and articles about comprehension of food labels.

See more “preformulated” searches on PubMed online at

Any way they are defined, any way they are measured, health and literacy are inextricably linked. Parents’ literacy is a determinant of child health. Low literacy is a barrier to delivery of healthcare services and home visitation services. Achieving family goals and program goals for health, school readiness, healthy child development, and self-sufficiency depends on parents’ ability to use information and resources. For these reasons, literacy should be a priority for all MCH home visiting programs.

Demographic and caseload changes related to culturally/linguistically diverse (CLD) populations require cultural competence in order to provide clinically competent services. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association resources were developed to help you reflect on your current level of cultural competence to increase and improve service delivery.

A series of checklists were developed to heighten your awareness of providing services to CLD populations.

Personal Reflection [PDF]

The Cochran Collaboration is an international network of people helping healthcare providers, policy makers, patients, their advocates and carers, make well-informed decisions about human health care by preparing, updating and promoting the accessibility of Cochrane Reviews – published online in The Cochrane Library.

The Campbell Collaboration helps people make well-informed decisions by preparing, maintaining and disseminating systematic reviews in education, crime and justice, and social welfare.

ED/IES What Works Clearinghouse US Department of Education/Institute of Education Sciences-A central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education.

RAND Corporation’s Promising Practices Network website is a unique resource that offers credible, research-based information on what works to improve the lives of children and families.

Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy seeks to increase government effectiveness through the use of rigorous evidence about what works.

Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) Project The Department of Health and Human Services launched Home Visiting Evidence of Effectiveness (HomVEE) to conduct a thorough and transparent review of the home visiting research literature and provide an assessment of the evidence of effectiveness for home visiting programs models that target families with pregnant women and children from birth to age 5.

National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs (SAMHSA) is a searchable online registry of more than 190 interventions

supporting mental health promotion, substance abuse prevention, and mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Edutopia The George Lucas Education Foundation

Accreditation Criteria and Standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children NAEYC has offered a national, voluntary accreditation system to set professional standards for early childhood education programs, and to help families identify high-quality programs

Cayuga County’s (NY) Partnership for Results The Partnership for Results is an innovative quasi-governmental entity dedicated to promoting the positive social, emotional, and educational development of youth and their families. Directed by leaders of public education, mental health, social services, health, and law enforcement agencies in Cayuga County

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Learning is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age 5.

The Incredible Years “The results of this literature review and synthesis confirm that systematic implementation practices are essential to any national attempt to use the products of science—such as evidence-based programs—to improve the lives of its citizens.”

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA, is excited to announce the availability of a new resource for MCH professionals working in state agencies and at the community level who seek to advance their learning and skills mastery.  The MCH Navigator  is a learning portal that links individuals to existing open-access training, organized in areas consistent with nationally endorsed public health and MCH leadership competencies. For those wishing to “jump in” and explore the learning resources linked in the MCH Navigator system, there is a MCH Navigator Web Tour .   Those seeking more complete information about the overall MCH Navigator project can find a short video presentation at http://navigator.mchtraining.net/wp-content/blogs.dir/5/files/PPT_Navigator/

New scientific discoveries about the lifelong impacts of adverse childhood experiences shed light on the intergenerational benefits of home visiting.This presentation is aimed at people working with young children and families and anyone interested in parenting and child development.

This is a chart of common prenatal tests, how they are done, when, and for what purpose. This chart is a useful reference, but will need translation to plain language when discussing with parents. Appropriateness of a test depends on family history of an inherited condition (e.g. muscular dystrophy), ethnic background (e.g. sickle cell anemia, Tay-Sachs), and mother’s age >35.

Prior to the birth of your baby, your health care professional may recommend one or more of the following tests. Ask your health care professional if any of these tests are right for you

U. S. Department of Health & Human Services, Public Health Service (1989) Caring for our future: The content of prenatal care. A report of the Public Health Service Expert Panel on the Content of Prenatal Care. NIH Publication No. 90-3182 Washington, DC: National Institutes of Health.

Oral Health for Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women:

Knowledge Path is an electronic guide to recent resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at improving access to and the quality of oral health care.

Updated September 2010

Surgeon Generals Call to Action to support breastfeeding Jan 20, 2011

Postpartum Support International is dedicated to helping women suffering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including postpartum depression, the most common complication of childbirth. We also work to educate family, friends and healthcare providers so that moms and moms-to-be can get the support they need and recover.

The Marcé Society's principal aim is to promote, facilitate and communicate about research into all aspects of the mental health of women, their infants and partners around the time of childbirth. This involves a broad range of research activities ranging from basic science through to health services research.

http://www.researchtopractice.info/ 

The Pathways Mapping Initiative. Address Children Ready for School and Succeeding at Third Grade, Successful Young Adulthood, and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.

http://www.cssp.org/publications/documents/pathways-to-outcomes  

Identifying and implementing educational practices supported by rigorous evidence: A user friendly guide. http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/rigorousevid/guide_pg4.html#intro

A policymaker’s primer on education research.

From the Zero to Three Scientific Meeting-John M. Love

Implementing Evidence Based Practice What does it mean and how will it affect programs for infants and toddlers.

Read this book Online for FREE

Ron Lally, ZERO TO THREE Board Member and Co-Director of WestEd's Center for Child & Family Studies, recently released a three-minute advocacy video, Why America's Babies are Crying. The video outlines the proposed cuts to services for babies made by the U.S. House of Representatives and asks viewers to take action. You can also visit the website www.invisibleneglect.org to find specific funding recommendations for programs serving babies in FY 2011 and FY 2012.

EthnoMed contains information about cultural beliefs, medical issues and related topics

pertinent to the health care of immigrants to Seattle or the US, many of whom are refugees fleeing war-torn parts of the world.

PubMed Health is a consumer health Web site produced by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), a division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PubMed Health provides up-to-date information on diseases, conditions, injuries, drugs, supplements, treatment options, and healthy living, with a special focus on comparative effectiveness research from institutions around the world.

The LSP is a quick, easy-to-use outcome measurement and intervention planning instrument designed specifically for use with low income parents during pregnancy and early parenting. It shows strengths, needs and progress on individual, family, caseload and program levels.

Definitions of terms related to abuse and neglect from the Dept of Health & Human Services, Children’s Bureau

Loveisrespect.org provides resources for teens, parents, friends and family, Peer Advocates, government officials, law enforcement officials and the general public. All communication is confidential and anonymous.

Hotline 866.331.9474