Developmental/behavioral training innovation in a high-need, low-resource state: The child health and development promotion fellowship.

INTRODUCTION: Developmental and behavioral problems are prevalent in early childhood, whereas the workforce available to identify and address early problems is comparatively limited. Beyond workforce shortages, additional barriers to developing and training a highly skilled workforce in this area exist-particularly in rural, high-need, and underserved U.S. states. As the health care landscape emphasizes expertise in interdisciplinary care, training approaches that provide intensive learning opportunities for supporting a skilled early childhood developmental workforce necessitate novel training approaches. This Workforce Catalyst report summarizes the initial conceptualization, development, execution, and evaluation of a Child Health and Development Promotion (CHDP) postgraduate fellowship in a high need, underserved rural area. METHOD: Three cohorts totaling 15 trainees across fields including psychology, pediatric nursing, speech-language pathology, social work, and occupational therapy were recruited and cross-trained in an intensive postgraduate fellowship in early childhood development and behavior. RESULTS: The CHDP fellowship led to experiences across the care continuum and resulted in multiple clinical, educational, and scholarly products. Outcomes revealed a training program aligned with Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health competencies, high in-state retention (71%) and employment (93%) following training, and graduates who report leadership positions and sharing of specialty developmental-behavioral knowledge in organizations focused on early childhood. DISCUSSION: The CHDP Fellowship is a novel, immersive, and interdisciplinary training experience demonstrating positive initial training outcomes in Mississippi. The model and experience may serve as a roadmap for bolstering a skilled early childhood workforce in other underserved and high-need states. Aspects regarding scale of reach, funding, and accreditation are discussed as barriers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Childhood adversity associated with poorer health: Evidence from the U.S. National Survey of Children's Health.

BACKGROUND: The association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and increased risk of health problems is well established. However, many studies have relied on unrepresentative or high-risk samples and have focused on a narrow range of health problems. Prior research assessing potential age differences in the ACE-health connection is also sparse. OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively examine the extent to which ACEs are associated with physical, mental, and neurodevelopmental health outcomes in childhood and assess whether these associations differ between age groups. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: Pooled cross-sectional data from the 2016-2019 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 98,732). METHODS: We estimated age-stratified binary logistic regression models examining associations between the number of ACEs and physical, mental, and neurodevelopmental health problems net of sociodemographic and socioeconomic controls. Separate models were estimated for the total population (ages 3-17), early childhood (ages 3-5), middle childhood (ages 6-11), and adolescence (ages 12-17). RESULTS: We observed a dose-response relationship between ACE exposure and childhood physical, mental, and neurodevelopmental health problems in all age groups. The largest disparities exist between children with no ACEs and three or more ACEs. Compared to children without ACEs, children with three or more ACEs had significantly higher adjusted odds of externalizing disorders (OR = 4.40), internalizing disorders (OR = 5.13), neurodevelopmental disorders (OR = 2.40), and physical health problems (OR = 2.08). CONCLUSIONS: Our results add to evidence linking ACEs to childhood health disparities. Further, findings indicate that ACEs have persistent negative effects across age groups and that clinicians should monitor ACEs when assessing children's physical, mental, and neurodevelopmental health at any age.

Defining the role of exposure to ACEs in ADHD: Examination in a national sample of US children.

BACKGROUND: Clinical presentations of ADHD vary according to biological and environmental developmental influences. An emerging field of research has demonstrated relationships between exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and ADHD prevalence, particularly in high-risk samples. However, research examining the combined role of traditional risk factors of ADHD and ACEs is limited, and reliance on high-risk samples introduces sampling bias. OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of ACEs on ADHD diagnosis using a large, nationally representative sample of US children. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Nationally representative samples (2017 and 2018) of 40,075 parents from the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH). METHODS: We conducted logistic regression models to examine the association of ACEs and ADHD diagnosis, controlling for child and parent demographic variables and other risk factors. RESULTS: Exposure to ACEs was significantly associated with parent-reported ADHD diagnosis, controlling for known parental and child-risk factors of ADHD. The association followed a gradient pattern of increased ADHD prevalence with additional exposures. Compared to children with no ACEs, the odds of an ADHD diagnosis were 1.39, 1.92, and 2.72 times higher among children with one, two and three or more ACEs. The ACE most strongly associated with the odds of ADHD was having lived with someone with mental illness closely followed by parent/guardian incarceration. CONCLUSIONS: Results further strengthen the evidence that ACEs exposure is associated with increased ADHD prevalence. Clinicians should assess ACEs in the diagnosis of ADHD. Furthermore, results of the study lend support to the efforts of agencies (both institutional and state-level) promoting routine screening of ACEs in children.

Future Directions for the Implementation and Dissemination of Statewide Developmental-Behavioral Pediatric Integrated Health Care.

The integration of mental health and pediatric health care services has long been a goal for both research and practice. With the advent of federal policies developed to mandate clinical efficiency across the health care spectrum, this issue is becoming more salient. Applied literature on this topic is only recently emerging, however, and there are limited contextual examples to guide program development, research, and refinement. This article presents background information relevant to the development of such a program (the Center for Advancement of Youth). The cultural and organizational contexts for the project are discussed, with particular emphasis on models for cooperation among several institutions of varying size and scope. The implications for the future of tangible research in this area are also discussed, with attention to extending lessons learned to diverse settings motivated to integrate various aspects of health care service provision.