Research
The California Childcare Health Program is engaged in several research projects. We will summarize our present research projects and some past projects, along with a list of the instruments used in our health and safety studies in ECE programs.
Present Projects
Past Project
Present Projects
Child Care Wellness Study: Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity in Child Care Centers
This multi-state (CT, NC, CA) randomized, experimental study will evaluate the effectiveness of a nutrition and physical activity intervention in child care centers provided by a trained child care health consultant on 3-5 year old children’s BMI, activity and nutritional intake at the center. The study will be conducted in six child care centers in the SF Bay Area and intervention centers will be matched with control centers. This study, funded by MCHB, is being conducted with colleagues at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Public Health (Jonathan Kotch, MD Principal Investigator) and Yale University School of Nursing (Angela Crowley, PhD Project Director).
Health and Physical Development Foundations for California’s Early Care and Education
This project supports the development of research-based foundations for the State of California Department of Education Child Development Division’s 4-5 year olds attending child care programs on their physical development and general health. The foundations will be reviewed by a national panel of experts and California’s child care agencies and providers. The Foundations will provide the guidelines for new state curricula for 4-5 year olds on physical development and general health. CCHP is funded by WestEd for the project.
This project is funded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to collaborate with environmental health experts at UC, Berkeley’s Center for Children’s Environmental Health Research and UC, Davis. We will develop an integrated pest management (IPM) Toolkit for child care staff to reduce the exposure of pesticides for children and staff in child care programs. The English- and Spanish-language Toolkit will include curriculum and complimentary publications, handouts, and posters. The Toolkit will be disseminated at workshops, through Child Care agencies, and on the CCHP website. We will also develop a standardized research instrument to assess pest control practices, an IPM Checklist, and it will be completed in 15 local child care programs.
back to top
Past Project
Child Care Health Linkages Project
The Child Care Health Linkages Project, funded by First 5 California, included a three-year evaluation (September 2001 to June 2004) to study the effects of health consultation services provided by Child Care Health Consultants (CCHC) and Child Care Health Advocates (CCHAs) on the health and safety of children 0-5 years of age attending child care. The evaluation included three components. First, an evaluation of the California Training Institute (CTI) for Child Care Health Consultants and Child Care Health Advocates. Training was assessed using pre and post knowledge-based tests and process evaluations following each training session. Second, a formative evaluation was conducted, which was be a descriptive study of the Child Care Health Consultant (CCHC) and Child Care Health Advocate (CCHA) roles in early care and education settings and the implementation of these new roles and programs at county and center levels. Third, an outcome evaluation was conducted in five of the 20 counties to study the effect of the child care health consultation programs on the number of national health and safety standards met in the ECE programs, number and quality of the health and safety written policies, and the health status of the children in the centers.
Linkages Preliminary Evaluation Findings
Advocate Daily Encounter Form
The Child Health Record Review
CCHP Health and Safety Checklist--Revised
CCHP Health and Safety Policies Checklist
Linkages Preliminary Evaluation Findings
Child Care Health Linkages Project Evaluation Summary (PDF; 141k; 4pp)
Instruments
Advocate Daily Encounter Form
In California, CCHCs work with Child Care Health Advocates (CCHAs). The CCHAs use a form that was modified from the DEF and is similar to the DEF. The form is called the Advocate Daily Encounter Form (ADEF). The ADEF documents the health and safety activities of the CCHAs. The ADEF was developed by the Child Care Health Linkages Evaluation Project, of the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing.
Advocate Daily Encounter Form (PDF; 57k)
The Child Health Record Review
Early Care and Education Program Health Assessment (Child Health Record Review) was developed to assess children's health status based on information in children's health records located on-site at early care and education (ECE) programs. They are based on the Child Care Evaluation Worksheet and Guidelines for Completion of form developed by the University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill Quality Enhancement Project for Infants and Toddlers Quality Enhancement Project for Infants and Toddlers, 2001; and researchers' and Child Care Health Consultants' experiences.
The Child Health Record Review (PDF; 11k)
back to top
CCHP Health and Safety Checklist--Revised
The CCHP Health and Safety Checklist-Revised is an 82-item observational measure that was developed to: 1) assess the health and safety status in early care and education (ECE) programs, 2) assess compliance with key National Health and Safety Performance Standards (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care, 2002), and 3) assist users to develop interventions to address the health and safety needs identified on the CCHP H&S Checklist.
The CCHP H&S Checklist was modified from the original CCHP Health and Safety Checklist based on several years of researchers' and Child Care Health Consultants' experiences using the measure. In addition, the new Health and Safety Checklist was modified to be more user-friendly, comprehensive and better organized than the original CCHP Health and Safety Checklist. An advisory group of experts met to review and prioritize the items.
back to top
CCHP Health and Safety Policies Checklist
The California Childcare Health Program Health and Safety Policies Checklist (2005) was developed to objectively assess written health and safety policies in early care and education programs. The Checklist can be used by child care providers or directors, child care health advocates, child care health consultants, health professionals, and researchers. It assesses the quality of written health and safety policies and helps child care and health professionals identify how to improve written policies and target interventions. The Checklist is based on the University of North Carolina of Chapel Hills's Quality Enhancement Project and the National Health and Safety Performance Standards (AAP, APHA, NRC, 2002).
CCHP Health and Safety Policies Checklist (PDF; 239k; 13pp)
Research Articles
- Alkon A, Boyce J. Health assessment in four child care centers: Parent and staff perceptions. Pediatric Nursing, 1999; 25: 439-42.
- Alkon A, Genevro J, Kaiser P, Tschann J, Chesney M, Boyce WT. The epidemiology of injuries in four child care centers. Archives Pediatric Adolescent Medicine, 1999; 153:1248-54.
- Alkon A, Genevro J, Kaiser P, Tschann J, Chesney M, Boyce WT. Injuries in child care centers: Gender- environment interactions. Injury Prevention, 2000;6:214-18.
- Alkon A, Tschann JM, Ruane SH, Wolff M, Hittner A. A violence prevention and evaluation project with ethnically diverse populations. American Journal Preventive Medicine 2001;20:48-55.
- Alkon A, Sokal-Gutierrez K, Wolff M. Child care health consultation improves health knowledge and compliance. Pediatris Nursing, 2002;28:61-5.
- Alkon A. Nonparental Child Care. In Rudolph’s Pediatrics, 21st Edition, Rudolph AM, Rudolph CD (Editors), 2003, McGraw-Hill, NY, Chapters 5:512-515.
- Alkon A, Ramler M, MacLennan K. Evaluation of mental health intervention in child care centers. Early Childhood Education Journal, 2003, 31:91-99.
- Alkon A, Boyer-Chu L. Oral health care starts early. Young Children, 2004; 59(2): 47.
- Alkon A, Farrer J, Bernzweig J. Roles and responsibilities of child care health consultants: Focus group findings. Pediatric Nursing, 2004;30(4): 315-321.
- Farrer J, Alkon A, To, K. Child care health consultation programs: Barriers and opportunities. Maternal Child Health Journal, 2007, 11(2): 111-8.
- Alkon A, Bernzweig J, To K, Mackie JK, Wolff M, Elman J. Child Care Health Consultation Programs in California: Models, Services, and Facilitators. Public Health Nursing 2008, 25(2):126-139.
- Wayne W, Alkon A. Creating a State Strategic Plan for Integrating Services for Children Using Multiple Qualitative Methods. Maternal Child Health Journal 2008, 12:15-23.
- Ward, T, Gay, C, Alkon, A, Anders, TF, Lee, KA. Nocturnal sleep and daytime nap behaviors in relation to salivary cortisol levels and temperament in preschool-age children attending childcare. Biological Research for Nursing 2008, 9(3):244-253.
- Alkon, A, To, K, Wolff, M, Mackie, J, Bernzweig, J. Assessing health and safety in early care and education programs: Development of the CCHP Health and Safety Checklist. Journal of Pediatric Health Care 2008, 22(6):368-377.
Reports
Health and School Readiness Literature Review
The purpose of this literature review is to summarize the health components, initiatives, and outcomes of key School Readiness Programs in the United States, not including California. The intent of this review is to provide relevant information for county First 5 staff renewing their School Readiness Programs and developing health interventions and/ or outcomes to address the required 'health and social services' element of their programs. This literature review summarizes key findings of program components and outcomes related to health and School Readiness.
back to top
|
