Insights

NICHQ Associate Director of Human Resources Ashidah Baker, shares insight about NICHQ’s HR policies and practices and how they're reflective of the organization's equity journey.

Patient and family partnerships are an essential element of health equity. By supporting patient and family voices and encouraging space for collaboration, public health professionals can help ensure shared vision and values are at the forefront of determining solutions to improve a community’s health outcomes. The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ) and the Florida Department of Health Office of Children’s Medical and Specialty Services have recently developed a Roadmap to Inviting, Engaging, and Including Patient/Family Partners in Quality Improvement and Other Related Initiatives. 

NICHQ Associate Project Director of Equity Dana West, Ph.D., brings a background in education, policy, social justice, and health to NICHQ's Equity Team. 

The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality, with funding by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is building upon an evidence-informed conceptual framework known as the Equity Systems Continuum to describe and define the systems that individuals and organizations currently operate within: Supremist-Designed System, Savior-Designed Systems, Ally-Designed Systems, and Equity-Empowered Systems. The Global Infant Safe Sleep Center (GISS) developed the original framework and serves as an ongoing partner in the project.

During Spring 2021 DARE conducted a series of community listening sessions for the National Action Partnership to Promote Safe Sleep Improvement and Innovation Network (NAPPSS-IIN). Listening session participants were asked about the resources and tools that help them promote safe sleep and breastfeeding/chestfeeding, and additional support needed to meet community safe sleep and breastfeeding/chestfeeding needs. While the analytic results are forthcoming, DARE is excited to share key lessons learned during NAPPSS-IIN community listening sessions. 

As a member of NICHQ's Data Applied Research and Evaluation (DARE) team, NICHQ Project Analyst Chiagbanwe Enwere brings a unique data and equity perspective to the New York State Maternal and Child Health Collaboratives project

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The Maternal and Child Environmental Health Collaborative Improvement and Innovation Network (MCEH CoIIN), a national initiative led by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs developed the MCH Lead Poisoning Toolkit to share innovative practices and methods that nine different state teams tested out to improve access to systems and services that address the needs for pregnant women, infants, children, and families that are exposed to lead. 

For NICHQ’s current and future work, I am motivated by wanting to be a better version of myself in service of others. Wondering whether my own implicit biases impacted my care of patients and families, I realize that I cannot redo past ER experiences. If I could go back, I would slow down to acknowledge and try to set my biases aside and approach patients from a personally more informed perspective. But now, I can use my past, present, and future experiences to ensure NICHQ is amplifying important lessons from this multi-year effort reflecting the compassion, care, and commitment of hundreds of dedicated professionals in pursuit of equitable, accessible, and quality healthcare for people living with sickle cell disease.

As NICHQ's Associate Director of Programs and Project Director for the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Regional Collaboratives Program and Content Development for Newborn Screening Clearinghouse initiatives, Kim Sprunk shares key takeaways and findings from the projects and their importance to NICHQ's overall programming goals.

Well-child visits and recommended vaccinations are essential, ensuring children stay healthy and are protected from preventable diseases and illnesses such as measles, whooping cough, and seasonal flu. But, as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, data shows that fewer childhood vaccinations have been given and many children have fallen behind on their scheduled appointments. Healthcare professionals should utilize the following strategies to work with parents and caregivers to get their children caught up on missed appointments and recommended vaccinations. 

NICHQ is not abandoning the traditional use of the terms “mother” and “maternal.” We are embracing the inclusive language of “birthing person/people” across our work. A move toward inclusive language does not force us to stop using language that so many people identify with; at its core, inclusion is about creating more space for one another. We are taking care to expand the use of these terms in our communications, on our website, in our resources, and eventually, in all our projects.