Building Bridges. Lessons Learned in Family-Centered Interprofessional Collaboration: Year Three
The Health and Education Collaboration Project, Hawaii Medical Association
This monograph is the third-year report of the Health and Education Collaboration Project (HEC), directed by the Hawaii Medical Association, whose purpose is to develop, test, and disseminate a model for family-centered, interprofessional training and service delivery. At the heart of the demonstration effort is the Healthy and Ready to Learn Center (HRTL). The Center offers family-centered services from an interprofessional and collaborative model, an emergent model of support based on the understanding that children grow up in complex environments. The report's sections are the following: (a) "What Is Family-Centered Interprofessional Collaboration?"; (b) "Seven Principles of Family-Centered Interprofessional Collaboration"; (c) "Health and Education Collaboration Background"; (d) "Implementation of Family-Centered Interprofessional Collaboration" (Year One, Year Two, Year Three, Health and Ready to Learn Center); (e) "Developmental Stages and Lessons Learned" (Building a Shared Vision; Staff Development; Training; Evaluation, Feedback, and Refinement; Dissemination); (f) "Implications for Future Interprofessional Collaboration Efforts"; (g) "Practice Examples of the Principles of Family-Centered Interprofessional Collaboration"; and (h) "Summary." Appendices include information on training, project updates, and project committee members.
The Health and Education Collaboration Project, Hawaii Medical Association. Building Bridges. Lessons Learned in Family-Centered Interprofessional Collaboration: Year Three (1997). Health and Education Collaboration Project, Hawaii Medical Association: Honolulu, HI.
(46 pages).
Sponsoring Agency: Maternal and Child Health Bureau, HRSA, DHHS
Language: English
Reading Level: Difficult
Formats Available: Printed Material
(free, will also be available online on the CLAS web site.)
Health and Education Collaboration Project, Hawaii Medical Association
1360 South Beretenia Street
Hawaii Medical Association
Honolulu, HI
96814
Phone: (808) 536-7702
Fax: (808) 528-2376
Languages Available: English
Intended User Audience:
This module was written primarily for faculty trainers in the fields of pediatric medicine, social work, nursing, early childhood special education/early intervention, and early childhood education. It may also be useful for advanced pre-service students in medicine, nursing, social work, early childhood special education/early intervention, and early childhood education. It provides advanced level information for faculty trainers and pre-service students.
The module was written for faculty trainers and pre-service students who are proficient in English. This module was developed for individuals working in the medical and social work field. It was piloted at a center in rural West-Oahu, but is intended to be useful to medical and social work personnel and students across the nation.
Product Development:
This material was developed as part of the Health and Education Collaboration Project funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Pediatric and social work faculty trainers participated in the development of this material. In general, participants represented the general Hawaiian population (European-American, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Pilipino).
Product Evaluation:
Evaluation of this manual was done in Hawaii. Evaluation participants included, program administrators, faculty trainers and medical center administrators in the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, early childhood special education/early intervention, and early childhood education. In general, participants represented the general Hawaiian population (European-American, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Pilipino).
Product Dissemination:
As of 1998, 800 copies had been distributed to medical professional associations, NAEYC, and NASW state chapter affiliates all across the United States.
Review #1
About the reviewer:
The reviewer has been an occupational therapist and an administrator
for early intervention and special education programs serving
individuals with developmental delays and autism, ages birth through
adulthood. The programs served primarily an urban, African American
population. More recent educational consulting has been in support
of early childhood programs serving increasing numbers of Latino and
Asian families. The reviewer's interests include implementing the
Americans with Disabilities Act in early childhood programs,
supporting cultural competence in early childhood educators, and
managing the health care for populations with special needs. The
reviewer is a candidate for an Ed.D. in special education at The
George Washington University.
Audience:
The developer's intended audience is faculty trainers in the fields of pediatric medicine, social work, nursing, early childhood special education/early intervention, and early childhood education. The authors suggest that it may also be useful for advanced pre-service students in the same fields. The reading level is advanced and the user must be proficient in English. Although the work of this project took place in Hawaii, the contents of the monograph are appropriate for wider geographic distribution and have been disseminated at national conferences. While the writing is not directed to families, the information about family-professional collaboration would be of interest and useful to them.
Strengths of the Material:
These four monographs chronicle the developmental stages of a community-based, collaborative training model with the goal of improving community-based, comprehensive services to children and families. It promotes best practice in interprofessional collaboration. The materials walk the reader through the lessons learned in each of three years in the following steps: a) building a shared vision; b) staff recruitment and development; c) training of students; d) evaluation, feedback, and refinement; and e) dissemination. Although the focus of the project is not cultural and linguistic diversity, per se, one of the principles of family-centered interprofessional collaboration is that it creates an atmosphere in which the cultural traditions, values, and diversity of families and professional are acknowledged and honored. This principle has been incorporated into the discussion and demonstrated by the use of case studies. Students reading this should get the clear message that cultural competence is a necessity to serve families well. Because of Hawaii's unusual history of cultural and ethnic diversity, there is acknowledgment of the cultural influence of generations residing in Western communities that is different from the diversity presented in communities with recent immigration. The writing is clear and well organized. The use of photographs and graphics enhances the presentation.
Limitations of the Material:
The road to interprofessional family-centered collaboration is a long, complicated, difficult process. Those already attempting collaborative efforts may find themselves wanting to read between the lines and ask about the nitty-gritty of collaboration. For example, a statement is made, Mutual trust and respect are cornerstones of collaborative relationships. But how do professionals go about establishing trust and respect? More information about the skills and how to apply those skills in using a collaborative process are needed if a faculty is teaching those skills to students. Clearly, the authors seem influenced by the work of Peter Senge, but the reader is not informed if that kind of a framework is guiding the work of the Health and Education Collaboration Project. The case studies give good cameos of collaborative work on behalf of the families but do not focus on the interactions among staff that are so critical to successful collaboration. The materials have been evaluated, but no evaluation data are included in the developer's information.
Adaptations:
It appears that an annual monograph is written for each year of project work. Some of the supporting material about the Maternal and Child Health Bureau demonstration projects is repeated. Faculty members may want students to use all four years' content to demonstrate developmental progress in the collaboration but eliminate any repetitive descriptions.
Generalizability:
These modules were developed for use with medical and social work students in Hawaii. The principles of family-centered, interprofessional collaboration are certainly useful for faculty training other professionals involved in providing integrated, comprehensive services for children and families. The content is relevant for faculty members and service providers working in other areas of the United States, particularly those working with families with complicated and intensive service needs.
Recommendations:
I recommend these materials for use with the intended audience and service providers. Important lessons have been learned through the project's work and will benefit both professionals and families.
Producer's Response:
Not available at this time.
Review #2
About the reviewer:
The reviewer is a professor on the West Coast, where she prepares
teachers for early childhood special education and for students with
severe disabilities. She has had several federal grants and research
publications on early childhood transition and inclusion. The
teachers, children, and families in her career have provided her with
experience with individuals from a wide range of Pacific Island,
Asian, and Southeast Asian cultures.
Audience:
These four (Building Bridges Years 1-4) annual project monographs were designed for faculty and advanced-level pre-service students associated with interdisciplinary personnel training in the fields of pediatrics, nursing, social work, early childhood special education, and early childhood education. The monographs describe a project and curriculum that was developed in Hawaii, with evaluation participants representing diverse disciplines and ethnic backgrounds (Caucasian, Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Filipino). The material is not limited by design to any particular cultural and linguistic group.
Strengths of the Material:
The monographs provide an overview of the Health and Education Collaboration Project (Hawaii Medical Association), an interdisciplinary training demonstration project. Each monograph briefly describes the project, its guiding principles, and a broad summary of "lessons learned" during the project year. One of the project's guiding principles addresses cultural diversity. Monographs of project years 3 and 4 include an outline of the interdisciplinary training program (the complete curriculum is not included). Similar formatting across monographs makes them very easy to read. The format of describing "lessons learned" is a clear way of briefly presenting practical information that project staff learned about the practicalities of implementing an interdisciplinary training model. Beginning with Year 2, the monographs provide "practice examples" that illustrate one or more of the project's guiding principles. The practice examples include vignettes about professionals working with families from a variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Photographs throughout the monographs included families, children, and professionals of diverse cultural backgrounds.
Limitations of the Material:
Because this material is in the form of annual reports, the content is necessarily broad. As a broad overview of an interdisciplinary training project, its usefulness is limited to an "awareness" or "introductory" level. A faculty trainer would need to contact project personnel for more detailed information (e.g., only the outline of the training curriculum is provided). Although the development of the project was evaluated with trainees from a variety of cultural backgrounds, there is no mention of cross-cultural interdisciplinary collaboration strategies/approaches (cultural diversity among families receiving services was addressed).
Adaptations:
It would be helpful if the annual reports specified additional monographs/training materials available from the project. One or more "lessons learned" could be added to each monograph to address the cross-cultural variable of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Generalizability:
The monographs would be of interest to faculty anywhere in the nation interested in an introduction to interdisciplinary professional training. It may be limited in usefulness to faculty working with trainees of a single non-Euro-American cultural group because cultural issues associated with professional collaboration are not addressed.
Recommendations:
Recommended. As noted above, the material is recommended for faculty interested in an introduction to interdisciplinary training. From a cultural perspective, I'd say the material is neutral.
Producer's Response:
Not available at this time.
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