Enhancing access to early intervention by including parent navigators with lived experience in a pediatric medical home.

Abstract

A growing number of children have developmental delay (DD) or intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and early intervention (EI) can improve their developmental trajectory. However, access to EI is fraught with disparities. This article describes the development of Parent Navigator (PN) program that placed three parents with lived experience in a pediatric medical home to serve as community health workers to provide support to families with a child with DD or IDD to access EI and other needed resources. We used a mixed-methods approach to program evaluation that included (a) documenting the number of referrals to the EI programs made by the PNs; (b) documenting referral outcomes; (c) conducting a physician satisfaction survey; and (d) interviewing the PNs to reflect on their experiences assisting families. From July 2018 to September 2020, our PNs facilitated 623 referrals to EI due to significant developmental concerns found during a pediatric visit. Rates of successful connection to EI were 71%. Survey results indicated that pediatricians felt the PNs were a valuable part of the healthcare team and helped reduce their own job stress. The PNs provided multiple examples of their methods of addressing barriers to EI access by relating to families with their own lived experience and by "meeting families where they are at." The PN program might be a successful approach to addressing disparities in EI access for families in need by using an innovative method of employing individuals with lived experience in the pediatric primary care setting. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).