Pediaschool: Lessons in Pediatrics

Project Year

2025

City & State

New York, New York

Program Name

CATCH Resident

Topic

Health Education & Prevention

Program Description

In 2021, two key AAP policies called for pediatricians to address child poverty and relational health/toxic stress. With global migration at it’s peak, NYC is now facing a perfect storm of vulnerability for young immigrant children who are facing homelessness and whose caregivers are extremely vulnerable due to recent migration.  Through partnership with the community-based organization Early Starters International, or ESI, our division of Community Pediatrics is aiming to meet needs in this vulnerable population.   Early Starters International is an educational humanitarian organization that aims to reduce the effects of childhood trauma by developing safe and nurturing community spaces and programming for families experiencing homelessness in New York City and around the world.  During the grant period, New York Presbyterian-Columbia residents and faculty will work together with ESI to design and implement a needs assessment for 2 of these safe spaces, develop a community asset map for ESI clients, and develop a series of health education workshops for families experiencing homelessness on pediatric topics, led by healthcare professionals.  A needs assessment tool will be designed and administered, in order to tailor interventions to meet the specific needs of the population.  A pilot series of workshops will be implemented within the pilot sites, and the program will be evaluated for efficacy and sustainability. The workshops will be designed and improved, based on evaluative feedback obtained through pre- and post- workshop surveys.   Through a train-the-trainer model, ESI staff will co-facilitate the work and will sustain the project. ESI employs community health workers, or “Maestras” to lead their educational programming and resource distribution at all sites.  The Maestras will co-design and co-facilitate the needs assessment activity, community asset mapping, the health education workshop, as well as the pre- and post-workshop surveys.  The needs assessment tool will be adapted for other ESI sites in NYC, to be used and administered by Maestras and resident MDs when available during their Community Pediatrics rotational block after the grant period has ended.  Together, the NYP-CUIMC team and ESI aim to 1) Assess current needs of ESI clients and provide mapped resources (including access-to-care resources) that can be shared by ESI Maestras  2) enhance knowledge and capacity on child health topics for families experiencing homelessness by running pediatric education workshops and teaching Maestras how to run these workshops.    

Project Goal

1. Address health education and resource needs for families attending ESI sites
2. Map community resources utilization and provide information to families in need about resources in their community that can help them.
3. Train a peer-based ESI workforce to become parenting mentors and disseminate knowledge on basic pediatric topics. 

Project Objective 1

By the start of September 2025, an effective needs assessment tool will be co-designed, implemented and analyzed by the resident lead, faculty mentor, and ESI staff at 2 sites. Community asset mapping will also take place during this time period.      

Project Objective 2

By March 2026, pre-tests on basic pediatric knowledge workshops will be developed,  implemented & analyzed, pilot workshops on basic pediatric topics will be designed implemented at 2 ESI sites, influenced by the results of the pre-test, and a post-test will be designed, implemented, and analyzed. 

Project Objective 3

By June 2026, training of ESI staff will begin to implement the sustainability portion of our project. 

AAP District

District II

Institutional Name

Early Starters International

Contact 1

Joseph Gonzalez, MD