What makes a sustainable model for youth engagement? Youth engagement goes beyond site level efforts and must be incorporated into policy implementation and programming. In this presentation, we will discuss various youth engagement programs and activities that are supported at the state level, program funding opportunities, and policies necessary to fully implement and link youth engagement activities with school based health centers.
ABSTRACT DESCRIPTION
This presentation will describe a model and rationale for youth engagement in SBHCs, including presenting data obtained from the validated youth engagement with health services (YEHS!) survey tool developed through a CHIPRA national demonstration project for improving School-Based Health Centers. Findings from the survey showed that students who said they received most of their care at SBHCs reported higher levels of engagement, and youth who were more engaged (those who scored higher on the health access literacy and health self-efficacy scales) reported better experiences with health care, received more anticipatory guidance that met their needs, and reported fewer unmet needs for anticipatory guidance.
The data provides confirmation to the ever important work of SBHCs, but begs the question of what can be done to ensure that we are engaging youth. While Youth Engagement is frequently thought to only involve SBHC staff, this presentation will highlight the multidimensional approach to youth engagement that goes beyond site level practice to state-wide policy. In New Mexico, the Office of School and Adolescent Health (OSAH), who funds and oversees the majority of SBHCs in the state, has made youth engagement a priority and a requirement for all funded SBHCs. This means that SBHCs are expected to strategize for and implement with youth engagement activities and approaches in their yearly operational plans and deliverables.
Further, OSAH provides support to SBHCs for various youth engagement opportunities in which SBHCs can participate. Such opportunities include provider-to-student level engagement as well as group level youth engagement. Examples of activities implemented in New Mexico will include:
•Talk About It Campaign is a low-cost, high impact mental health awareness/youth suicide prevention campaign in which a curriculum and materials are provided to SBHCs to use with groups of youth.
•Youth CHAT, OSAH has adopted the University of Minnesota YouthCHAT model, in which youth serve as actors and teachers in training health care providers and staff at SBHCs.
•Natural Helpers, a peer to peer project, identifies and recruits “natural leaders” within the school and provides leadership and helping skills. NM Natural Helpers is currently employed in 22 campuses statewide and these leaders are linked to their SBHCs.
•Youth Health Advisory Groups engaged as the core youth voice for School Health Advisory Committees. These local groups address a variety of adolescent health topics and programs, including school based health center operations and services, as well as awareness and student satisfaction.
•Youth Health Literacy tools and resources developed based upon identified needs from the YEHS survey including materials around youth transitions in health care.
Through such programs and policies, New Mexico has achieved a supportive infrastructure that integrates youth engagement into SBHC practice and thus provides a sustainable and adaptable model to be shared with other SBHCs across the nation.
PRESENTER(S)
NAME: Caitlin Adams BS ORGANIZATION: Envision New Mexico NAME: Yolanda Cordova MSW ORGANIZATION: NM Department of Health
AUDIENCE
ADMINISTRATORS: Y
PRIMARY HEALTH: Y
MENTALHEALTH: Y
ORGANIZATIONAL: Y
PUBLIC HEALTH: Y
EDUCATION: Y
YOUTH: Y
Technical
issues should be directed to Deirdre Taylor via email: dtaylor@sbh4all.org
or Telephone: (202) 638-5872, ext. 204
