Positive Parenting Education Offered in Group Well Child Care: A Program Evaluation - Abstract
Introduction: Standard pediatric preventive care seldom includes evidence-based parenting training as a routine part of well child care. This study
describes a group well child care (GWCC) program that incorporated evidence-based positive parenting training into its curriculum, which was implemented
at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) serving low-income Asian immigrants. This mixed-methods program evaluation sought to assess the feasibility,
financial sustainability, and acceptability of providing positive parenting training in a GWCC format at a busy primary care clinic.
Methods: To evaluate sustainability/financial feasibility, the study compared GWCC’s enrollment, attendance, and provider productivity with usual care.
Open-ended parent survey questions and focus groups (n=66 survey respondents; n=21 focus group participants) elicited qualitative parental feedback on
satisfaction and self-reported learning about parenting and child development topics.
Results: Provider productivity for GWCC was higher (2.99 patients/hour) compared to usual care (2.63 patients/ hour). Attendance at GWCC (98%,
95% confidence interval 92-100%) was also higher than for standard care (78%, 95% confidence interval 76-80%), supporting financial feasibility in clinical
practice. Parent surveys also indicated high levels of satisfaction with GWCC: 84% had no suggestions for improvement or reported “everything is excellent.”
The top parent-reported benefits included learning new parenting content (21%), sharing with other mothers (17%), and having more time with the medical
provider (7%). Nearly all survey respondents reported learning new content: most commonly, about nutrition, child development, and positive parenting.
Notably, parents frequently reported playing and reading with their children more and utilizing praise and more positive disciplinary techniques.
Conclusion: This evaluation supports the feasibility of providing positive parenting education in the format of group well child care (GWCC) visits among
low-income Asian immigrants. It also provides preliminary, qualitative evidence for GWCC’s potential to promote knowledge of positive parenting practices
in similar populations.